Shego's Baby
by cloudmonet
Summary: At the end of Kim and Ron's sophomore year of college, Shego finally has her baby. But there are medical complications, and ruthless speedboat pirates.
1. Chapter 1

**Shego's Baby**

**Part One**

_Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Rufus, Monique, Felix Renton, Drakken, and Shego are characters from the Kim Possible show, created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, owned and copyright © by the Walt Disney Company. The story takes place at the end of Kim and Ron's sophomore year of college, three years after "So the Drama," and not long after my earlier story, "Mind Out Of Time." This is part one of a four part story, © 2006 by cloudmonet._

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Ron Stoppable finished the last sentence, put down his pen, and reread his essay on how the Chinese culturally dominated various peoples who successfully conquered their Kingdom. He decided it was good enough, carried the examination book up to the front desk, and handed it to his professor. His wife, Kim, of course, had finished hers about half an hour ago and was waiting in the hallway.

"How'd you do?" she asked him.

"Spiffy!" squeaked Rufus, Ron's pet naked molerat, who was perched on his shoulder.

"Mmm— I'm betting some kind of B," said Ron. "I think I made good arguments, and phrased them okay. I'm just glad finals are over. I'm so glad we didn't have to take the psychology final."

"Well, on the one hand, it's nice to have an automatic A, thanks to our participation in Dr. Hurlbetter's experiments. On the other hand, we didn't do the course."

"A plus as far as I'm concerned."

Dot dot dadot!

Kim pulled the kimmunicator from her pocket. "What up, W—?" she started to say, but the face on the screen was so not Wade Load. It was Drake Jones, the man who used to be the evil blue-skinned Dr. Drakken.

Now his skin was tan, thanks to some skin treatments from Dr. Anna Ruiz of Lima, Peru, and his formidable engineering abilities were turned toward more benign purposes. He and his wife, Sheila, the former Shego, were settled in Queensland, Australia, where Drake worked for zookeeper and cable television personality, Crocodile Jack.

Why did Drakken reform? Getting sentenced to 167 years in prison was discouraging, to say the least, especially when escapes got harder to arrange. He and Shego did manage one final escape, but this time wisely gave up their old habits and kept a low profile.

Kim and Ron had found them in Peru, and let them go. Why? Drakken was helping the Tulabombu Indians protect their jungle against illegal logging. Shego was pregnant, and more than anything did not want to end up losing the baby and doing life in prison.

Global Justice had found them in Queensland, and let them go. Why? Shego went to the Hindu Kush with Kim's squad and helped capture a whole nest of Central Asian Jihad terrorists, including Zafir the Scorpion. Drakken found a way to penetrate the advanced cloaking technology on the invisible plane, which Ali Abdullah was flying to China to steal the Chixulub bomb.

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Kim brightened up and shrieked when she saw Drake. "Sheila had the baby!" she exclaimed.

"Chill, Kim, he doesn't look happy at all," said Ron.

Rufus, always quick to pick up on Ron's emotional state, shook his head sadly.

"Oh—" Kim said, looking closer at the small image of Drake's face on the kimmunicator screen. "Drake, what's wrong?"

"Sheila's not doing well at all," he replied. "She's alive, but unconscious. She lost a lot of blood. Alicia— well, I guess the baby's okay. She's got the green power, doesn't know how to control it, so they've got her— sedated. The birth— she really hurt her mom— and if she gets mad, she blasts green plasma all over the room. I want Dr. Ruiz from Peru. She said she'll come if you give her a ride."

"Stay calm, it's gonna be all right," said Kim. "I'm on my way."

"Please hurry," Drake said, in almost a whisper.

Kim put the kimmunicator back in her pocket. "Get Felix and Belinda," she told Ron. "I'm going to Dr. Hurlbetter's office."

"You're gonna use the telepathy machine with Sheila?" Ron asked. "You know you're gonna find her old bad self in there."

"With luck, she'll come out of it before we get there and I won't need it," said Kim. "I can hope, but it never seems to go that easily."

"On my way," said Ron, dashing down the hall.

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Kim was already in the Miscellaneous Humanities Building, where Avrum Hurlbetter's office was on the third floor.

"I'm sorry, Kim, but I can't get clearance for you to use the telepathy machine on a patient in a coma," he told her.

"But you're a psychology professor. If you were operating the machine—"

"It hasn't been cleared yet for clinical trials."

"By the American authorities, whoever they are," Kim said. "I'm not going to use it in America."

"Where is the patient?" asked Dr. Hurlbetter.

"Uh, Queensland," Kim said hesitantly.

"Australia's no third-world country. Probably you'd get in some trouble and they'd confiscate the machine—"

"So not gonna happen."

"Kim—"

"I can't let Sheila die. I can't let Drake lose her. This machine is the answer. If I fail him, the consequences for me, for him, and for the whole world could be very, very bad." Kim's voice dropped as her words fell flat. "I wish I didn't have to be so vague."

"I understand that these people are important to you, and I'm sorry." Kim gave him the Kim glare that looked like the precursor to an all-out assault.

"Kim, I understand your anger," said Dr. Hurlbetter.

"No, you don't," she replied.

"How far are you going to go?" he asked. "It's my machine, not yours, Kimberly. I wish I could do what you want, but you must understand, we're just not ready for clinical trials. If something were to go wrong, the liability—"

"So not a problem in this case," said Kim. "I can guarantee you that neither the patient nor the husband will press any lawsuits."

"How can you possibly guarantee that?"

Kim could guarantee this because there's no way either Drakken or Shego would ever willingly go anywhere near a courtroom, but she couldn't say this, and exploded with frustration.

"Ohhhh!" she cried. "I can't tell you— This is so wrong! I just hate it when I find myself up against another good guy! I've got to use your machine. Yes, it's your machine. I can't just take it from you. I can't beat you up. I can't, I can't, I can't! That's so not my slogan. I'm Kim Possible! I can do anything!"

"Your parents must have put you under a lot of pressure," Dr. Hurlbetter said calmly.

"My— parents? What do they— oh, right, sure, you're a psychologist."

"You lapsed into using your maiden name. Of course, it is rather catchy, and clearly means a lot to you."

"Dr. Hurlbetter, for better or worse, I'm a hero. I couldn't even begin to count how many people's lives I've saved. Whether it makes me feel good, or makes up for some inadequacy I feel inside isn't what matters. Sheila needs me to save her now, and I can do it, with your machine."

"Are you always right when you're this certain?"

Quickly tapping footsteps of hard-soled shoes on the tile floor became a suddenly opening door. There stood Belinda Brockmeyer, hands on her hips, glaring at Dr. Hurlbetter and Kim. She shook her head slowly. "I'm sensing toxic levels of anger and frustration."

"I wouldn't be so judgmental—" Dr. Hurlbetter said.

Belinda waved her hand, just as Ron appeared behind her in the doorway. "Kim and I need to borrow the portable telepathy machine, Dr Hurlbetter," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. "I hope this is fine with you." She dropped her voice to emphasize certain words.

"Belinda, Kim wants to use the machine on a patient," Dr. Hurlbetter protested. "We're not approved for clinical trials."

Belinda held his eyes with her gaze. "The treating physician will approve this," she said.

"He will?"

"She will okay it," Belinda corrected him. "This will work out very well for you, if you let it happen."

"You're— you're quite sure of this, Belinda?"

Belinda continued looking into his eyes while smiling calmly.

"Well, I guess—"

"Good. So let's pack the carrying case," she said.

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Of course, it was Ron's honor to carry the heavy telepathy machine case. Monique's green Buick was waiting in the nearest parking area. It was pretty much filled with stuff. "Felix is already at the airport prepping the jet," she said. "I figure I'll take Belinda, and you guys can ride the stealth bike."

"I'm sorry about this," said Kim. "I was hoping to take you all home before any missions popped up, but this—"

"It's okay," said Monique.

Belinda opened the passenger door and got in. "We'd better go," she said. Kim opened a storage compartment on the stealth bike and got out the helmets. "Did you see what Belinda did? It's almost like she put Dr. Hurlbetter under a spell."

"Yeah," Ron said, and waved his arm the way Belinda had done. "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"Ron, be serious."

"The force is strong in that one," Ron intoned. "She can stare into the eyes of petty bureaucrats, dissolving red tape so that we may proceed."

"Uh huh," Rufus agreed.

"You don't think there's something wrong with that?" asked Kim.

"Is it wrong to spin around and kick someone in the head?" Ron countered.

"Hi, yah!" Rufus cried, attempting a kung fu spin on Ron's shoulder. Atypically, he stumbled, but Ron caught him and put him back.

Kim's face showed a mixture of anger and thoughtfulness.

"Usually, yeah, it is wrong to kick someone in the head," said Ron. "But there are times when it's right and we know when to do it. Same with Belinda's hypnosis."

Kim straddled the bike and kick started the rocket engines. "Let's go," she said, and Ron put Rufus in his pocket and climbed on behind her.

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A small black jet with the "KP" monogram on the tail flew between the eastern Pacific Ocean and the stars. Felix's wheelchair was locked in place at the control panel. "We'll be at the Lima International Airport in about 15 minutes," he said. "We're cleared to land at the general aviation runway."

"Fasten your seat belts," said Kim, and pulled the kimmunicator from her pocket. "Dr. Ruiz, my pilot says we're landing in 15 minutes."

"Buenos noches, Kim," the Peruvian woman replied with a smile. "I'm already at the airport."

Indeed, she walked out to Kim's jet as soon as Felix taxied to a stop, and climbed aboard. "It's good to see you again, Kim," she said, extending her hand.

"Have you heard anything new about Sheila? I must confess I'm not surprised there were complications."

"I should check that," Kim replied.

After a few moments, Drake's worried face appeared on the screen. It was still daytime in Australia. "Kim?" he said. "Sheila's not any better."

"I've got Anna Ruiz," she said. "Whoops, we'd better sit down. We're taking off."

Dr. Ruiz took the seat beside her and fastened the seat belt.

"I'm also bringing a telepathy machine," Kim told Drake. "It makes a direct noninvasive connection between two minds. It was developed specifically to be used to contact and interact with people stuck in a coma."

"That's cutting edge," said Dr. Ruiz.

"Well, it's a last hope if your own techniques— uh— I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Kim said hastily.

"Yes, you did, and you're quite right to bring it along."

The wheels left the ground, and the plane banked to turn away from the nearby mountain back toward the sea.

"A telepathy machine," said Drake. "That has to work, well, if it's a real research machine and not mad science."

"I've used it myself," said Kim.

"I wonder— if I had a neural compliance chip, and stuck it on Sheila's forehead, and just commanded her to wake up— do you think she'd wake up?"

"You don't have one—" said Kim.

"A neural compliance chip?" Dr. Ruiz asked, with alarm in her voice.

"No, I don't have one," said Drake. "If I had the schematic, I could build one by hand with my nanomanipulating equipment. I was just wondering."

"Her brain could be in a delicate state right now," said Dr. Ruiz. "A neural compliance chip could do real damage, and we don't want that. No mad science, at least not till I get there. It lacks finesse."

"I understand," said Drake.

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It was a very long night across the Pacific. Even at hypersonic speed, there was no way to get to reach Queensland before the middle of the night, so Kim and Felix decided to fly slower, save fuel, and get there the next morning. Kim and Ron had air mattresses and blankets for everybody.

At some point in the middle of the flight, while most of the others were asleep and Kim was at the controls, she had a long talk with Dr. Ruiz.

"Sheila's in a coma, the baby's sedated and all but unmanageable," she said. "If anything happens to either of them, Drake will just be destroyed. What was your treatment plan?"

"There are certain drugs which will usually rouse an unconscious person, but if Sheila has lost a lot of blood and suffered other complications, this could be dangerous for her. She might wake up, but still be unable to speak or communicate. There could be brain damage."

"This is so wrong," said Kim. "They were both doing so well the last time I saw them."

"I'm good with comas— traumatic injuries from falls and car accidents, drug overdoses— usually young tourists. The right course of action depends very much on what caused the coma— probably shock, in Sheila's case. When there's massive loss of blood, the brain goes unconscious to minimize damage. With this machine, we can tell if Sheila's still in there, or if she's damaged beyond repair."

"I should admit that the machine hasn't been cleared for clinical trials in America."

"Kim, a lot of times, the only hope hasn't been cleared for clinical trials. How'd you persuade Dr. Hurlbetter to let you borrow the machine?"

"I didn't. Belinda did. She's the lab tech."

"Ah, your pilot's paramour."

"Oh, I didn't even think of that!" Kim whispered.

"What? Why are you whispering?"

"The last time we went to Queensland, Felix thought they broke up, and spent the weekend with a local girl, who works at the same place Drake does. I don't know if Belinda knows about her."

"Kim, calm yourself. You're stressing over everything—"

"I don't want my team divided by a soap opera while I'm trying to stop a tragedy."

"You need to let go, Kim."

"Dr. Ruiz—"

"Please, call me Anna. You need to master your own mind. Turn down the angst."

"You know, of all the villains I've ever crossed paths with, Drake and Sheila are—"

"Your great success. The ones who actually turned over a new leaf and did something constructive. What's it going to do to you if this falls apart, even if this happens through no fault of your own?"

"You're starting to sound like Dr. Hurlbetter, who seems to think there's something psychologically wrong with what I do."

"Kim there's nothing wrong with what you do," said Anna. "But you need to be able to step back enough to not be hurt inside by the occasional failure. Other people will need your help."

"Anna," Kim said, looking briefly at the small, black haired Hispanic woman almost old enough to be her mother, and in fact having the same first name. "I'm trying to get comfortable with calling you Anna," she said nervously.

"Get used to it," Anna said, clasping Kim's forearm for a moment with both of her small hands.

"Thanks," Kim told her.

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Dr. Ruiz, Kim, Ron, and Belinda met Drake in the intensive care unit where Sheila lay unconscious on the hospital bed.

"Oh, I'm so relieved," Drake said. "These people—"

"Are probably fine," said Dr. Ruiz. "They're just not acquainted with your wife's actual condition, are they?"

"There's some things I don't dare risk revealing—"

"Don't worry about it," she said, walking over to Sheila and doing some manipulations of her arms, then opening one of her eyes and shining a light on the retina. "Let me try something here. Nurse, could you bring the portable defibrillator?"

"Doctor, she's not in fibrillation," the nurse protested.

"I'm not going to use it on her heart," said Dr. Ruiz.

"We do have an electroshock machine if you think that's advisable—"

"I want the defibrillator."

In a few minutes the nurse brought it in. Dr. Ruiz attached the contacts to Sheila's left forearm and propped the arm up with a pillow. Gradually she amped up the electric pulses until something happened that totally surprised the nurse and Belinda, though not Drake, Kim, or Ron. The hand started glowing green and burst into flames. Dr. Ruiz immediately shut down the defibrillator and the flames went out. Sheila's hand showed no trace of being burnt, though the pillow was smoldering. Dr. Ruiz tossed the pillow on the floor. "Get this wet and get it out of here," she told Ron.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and rushed the smoldering pillow to a bathroom sink. The smoke alarm and sprinkler system in the bathroom came on the moment Ron had the pillow in the sink and the water running. "Well, that tanks!" he said.

"That's just what the baby did!" the nurse was saying when Ron ran back, dripping wet.

"You weren't quite fast enough, were you?" Kim whispered to Ron.

"I'm betting it happens again when Doc examines the baby," he replied. "Why did you make Sheila blast?" he asked Dr. Ruiz.

"I wanted to see if it could happen while she's unconscious. If we have to use the telepathy machine, this could be a problem."

"I'm glad you checked that," said Kim.

"Am I the only one here who thinks it's really weird for someone's hand to blast green flames?" asked the nurse.

"It is weird, but all of us already knew about it," Dr. Ruiz explained. "Sheila was exposed to some low intensity ultra high frequency radiation from an extraterrestrial object of unknown nature. The baby absorbed a certain amount of this same radiation while growing inside Sheila's body. Sheila has somehow learned to consciously control the plasma effect."

"It's linked to her emotions, especially anger," said Drake.

"Yes, which is the problem with the baby. When she fusses, she blasts plasma. And babies fuss. Keeping her sedated is not good for her. Without the normal stimulations of full consciousness, her brain development— I'm going to have to order you to cut her dose of sedative in half immediately."

"But Dr. Ruiz, she's a fire hazard."

"Minimize the flammables in the room. So now I'm asking everyone to leave this room except the nurse and husband. I don't think Sheila would want anyone else watching the next part of this examination."

The husband, however, left the room with Kim, Ron, and Belinda. "I don't think I can handle that," Drake said. "Poor Sheila."

"Don't blame Alicia for what's happened," Belinda said, pressing Drake's hand between her own.

"I'm sorry, I'm kinda stressed," Drake replied. "You're some friend of Kim. Do I know you?"

"Careful," said Ron, wiping his head dry with a white towel. "That's a deeper question with Belinda than most other people. She might remember you from a past life on Atlantis or something."

"Drake, meet Belinda," said Kim. "If we do end up using the telepathy machine, she's the technician."

"Wouldn't it be better if I went into Shego's— Sheila's mind to look for her?" Drake asked.

"Dude, if you don't know what you're doing, how to block out what you don't need to see, it gets totally weird and confusing," said Ron. "You don't know how old you are, what's past, present, or future. You're shuffling through your life in random order, following whatever memory reminds you of something else. Kim can control this."

"You're getting better at it," said Kim.

"We've both spent lots of hours the past couple months on that machine," said Ron. "It's a practice thing."

"Okay, I get the picture," Drake said.

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"It's a tragedy, a real tragedy and a shame," Crocodile Jack told Kim while they sat together in the hospital cafeteria. "This specialist from Peru, do you think she's any good?"

"She's got the baby conscious and so far not throwing fits and shooting green flames all over the room," said Kim. "And Daddy and Alicia seem to be bonding, which is all for the good."

"Yeah, what's up with the baby?" Jack asked. "I thought Sheila's flaming hands bit was some sort of martial arts discipline she learned from their spy days, but Dr. Ruiz talks like it's some bonzo-loco medical condition infecting the baby."

"Some of those ancient disciplines are dangerous to mess with," said Kim. "Did I ever tell you about the Chinese amulet from an ancient martial arts cult that almost turned me into a monkey?"

"No, really?"

"Really. I was in my junior year of high school. I was so embarrassed! Can you imagine cheerleading with a hairy midriff and a tail?"

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"Come on, let's go check it out," Monique urged Felix. "Do you wanna hang in the plane and be bored, or go to the hospital and watch Kim fix a tragedy, or do you wanna have some fun, roll through the zoo, and watch someone feed a great big croc?"

"I especially don't want to go to the zoo," he replied. "Kelly's there."

"Oh, I heard about her— your weekend date, when Belinda was all, 'Oh we worked out our karma!' and breaking up with you."

"Exactly! I don't want to stir up Kelly again. She kept calling me for weeks."

"What? If she sees you with me, she'll think you're with me."

"She may think you're Belinda and make a nasty scene."

"Where we gonna see her anyway? Feedin' a croc? Carrying a koala? They film just about everything that goes down at that zoo, just in case somethin' happens they can put on the show. Kelly won't make a scene in front of the cameras."

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The crowd gathered round the walk on the outside of the heavy-duty double fence, watching a slender young girl with short dark hair walking near the murky pool. A big blonde man with a white bucket kept behind her.

"This is the lair and territory of Samson," Kelly began, her voice echoing through the public address system. "Jack calls him psycho, and diabolically unpredictable, but I find he's always been the perfect gentleman with me—" she stomped on the ground and a huge croc head almost as long as her body lunged out of the water, jaws agape. Kelly jumped backwards, the white bucket bloke handed her a big hunk of pork, she threw it into the jaws, and snap! The jaws closed and Samson was back in the water, all in one smooth move. "Except of course when he's hungry," Kelly quipped. "His table manners leave a bit to be desired."

This remark got a nervous laugh from everyone.

The second time, Kelly's assistant, who she introduced as Chuck, thumped on the white bucket to draw Samson out of the water. This strike wasn't quite so hard. The third time Samson moved slowly enough that Kelly was able to lure him all the way out of the water by walking backwards, dangling a piece of meat. Finally, she tossed it into Samson's gaping mouth. He paused, made a U-turn, and slid on his belly down the slope back into the water.

"A magnificent crocodile, and a perfect gentleman!" Kelly said, and the audience clapped. "Crocodile etiquette isn't exactly like people etiquette. In croc etiquette, it's always proper for the gentleman to eat first! So, if Samson's had his fill, maybe he'll let Starfire come out and get some."

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"Kelly's a remarkable lady," Monique told Felix. "Kinda like Kim, you know."

"I don't want to think this way," he replied sullenly. He turned his wheelchair and rolled along the path away from Samson's enclosure, with lots of "Excuse mes" along the way.

"Hey, I'm sorry, brother," Monique said, squeezing through the crowd to follow him. "Felix, wait! I didn't mean to bum you. I just—"

"You just what?" asked Felix, stopping on the edge of the crowd.

"I was thinking of myself, that's all, always around such remarkable women— Kim, Belinda, and now here's another one, and I'm just plain ol' milk chocolate Monique— no kung fu, no psychic power, no teasin' crocs out of the water— all I want to do with my life is buy and sell stylin' clothes. Maaaan!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you were, you know, trying to make me think I chose the wrong girl."

"No, brother, I've watched you with Belinda. You made the right choice."

"Then what was the crack about 'We worked out our karma'?

"I just thought that was a nasty thing for her to do to you. She hasn't done any other nasty stuff I don't know about, has she?

"You want to look at the animals or what?"

"Okay, okay, I'm just concerned about you because— okay, so we never got very close. I'm just Kim's friend and you're Ron's. But we're around each other a lot, and I kinda like you, so I—"

"Did you just put your foot in your mouth?"

"Yeah, totally," Monique admitted.

"That's awkward," Felix said. "Nah, I'm just foolin' with you. It's okay."

"How do you really feel about me?"

"Are you trying for awkward? Do you really want to know? Cause I'm gonna be saying 'Belinda this' and 'Belinda that.' No other girls paid any attention to me before she opened me up, and now—"

"I'm sorry."

They began moving past a series of saltwater croc enclosures toward higher ground, where they looked through a fence at several emus and big red kangaroos.

"Going with a guy like me isn't easy," Felix said. "Even Belinda gets overwhelmed, sometimes. I can never stand up and hold her in my arms, never dance with her, never be the one on top. You're pretty, okay? No, Monique, you're beautiful. I don't think of you as plain milk chocolate at all. But the guys who interest you are macho athletic guys like Brick and Wendell. I never thought I could have any place in your heart."

"Yeah, guys with big muscles, big egos, and big hot dogs," said Monique. "They think my body's some kind of exercise machine, my beauty nothin' special, and my heart irrelevant."

"Am I really so different? Seeing Kelly makes me wonder."

"See, now, Wendell didn't do other girls cause he thought I broke up with him. He did 'em cause he's a player. You love Belinda and you care about Kelly. You could've loved Kelly if Belinda didn't want you back, and if Kelly weren't so far away. You don't just knock some girl's heart around like a hockey puck till you score."

"Not intentionally," Felix agreed.

"I'm just realizing, brother, how'd I miss you?" Monique touched his shoulder and forced a smile that felt pretty real when Felix smiled back. "All I'm sayin', maybe if Belinda don't work out, you can come see about me, if you want. Otherwise, we can be friends."

"Sure," he said, shaking her hand.

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"I want to be here," Drake said, in Sheila's hospital room. "When she wakes up, I want to be the first thing she sees."

"You have to sleep sometime, yourself, Mr. Jones," said the next nurse. "The IV's a real slow, gentle drip. Dr. Ruiz says she probably won't wake up till morning."

"If I'm asleep, I'll still be the first person she sees."

"As you wish," she replied.

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Kim, Ron, Belinda, Felix, and Monique got a suite at the Krazy Koala Motel. The two couples settled in, watching a romantic comedy on the big screen satellite TV. Rufus fell asleep in his nest box. Monique changed clothes in the bathroom and came out wearing a soft light blue dress. "I'll be back later," she said, stepping out the front door.

"She's dressed up," Ron remarked.

Kim frowned with thought, then shrugged. "Monique can take care of herself."

On the television, the brown-haired girl was saying, "I don't think you really love me. I don't think you love anyone but yourself."

"That's not true at all," said the athletic guy.

"What a jerk," said Ron.

"I think he's supposed to love her, but he doesn't realize it yet, so his lie is actually kinda the truth," said Kim.

"That just happens in movies," said Ron.

"You can be in love and not know it," said Kim. "So been there, done that."

"Uh, yeah, me too," Ron said. "Okay, maybe he's not exactly a jerk."

"Yes, he is, but he'll learn the value of her love, like I did with yours."

"I don't think Monique wanted to deal with this movie," said Felix. "He acts too much like Wendell."

"She's been kinda quiet tonight," said Kim.

"Isn't she usually like that?" asked Belinda.

"No," said Kim and Ron in unison.

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Monique walked through the cool evening past parking lots of other motels and a row of closed shops. There was music coming from a bar on the corner, sounded like Australian country music, or something like that.

"I must be crazy," Monique muttered to herself. "This is no scene for a soul sister." She took a deep breath, walked in, sat on a barstool and forced a smile.

"G'deven, sheila," the gruff old bartender said. "What can I make you?"

"Just a mug of that golden Aussie beer," she replied. "Please and thank you."

The brown-haired man on the next stool frowned at her. "Why don'tcha go t' the darkie bar?"

"The what?" Monique demanded.

"Franko, be polite," said the bartender. "She's an American tourist."

"I don't care what kind of bloody darkie she is," Frank muttered, with very slurred speech.

"Hey," said a big blonde man, seizing Frank by the neck of his T-shirt and pulling him off the stool. "I don't like that kinda talk or that kinda thinking. You just shut your mouth if you can't say somethin' nice."

Whether because of the blonde man's pushing or his own weak legs, Frank ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Anyone else wanna be rude?" The blonde man looked around the room, then smiled at Monique. "I guess we're okay then. Name's Chuck."

"Hey, Chuck, I'm Monique."

"Glad t'meet ya," he said, offering his hand, which she slid her own hand against, palm to palm.

"You work at the zoo, don'tcha?" Monique asked, touching the logo on his khaki shirt longer than necessary. "Think I saw you in the croc pit with that pretty woman. Kelly, is that her name?"

"We work together sometimes."

"Here's your beer, sheila," said the bartender.

"Thanks," Monique said, taking a sip. "Mmm, this is good."

"Thanks, Chucko," the bartender said quietly.

"I might've done that myself," Monique said with an angry gleam in her eye. "I do not appreciate racism."

"Don't take offense, sheila, Frank does not speak for this fine establishment."

Monique looked around at the other customers. A couple of the younger women smiled. Some of the men avoided her gaze.

"Well, Chuck, are ya havin' a drink before you go home to your wife, or are you out for the evening?" Monique asked him, touching his forearm lightly.

"Why, you wanna—?"

"Don't you get the wrong idea about me," Monique added quickly. "I just wanna talk, dig the music, maybe dance a little bit. You get what I'm sayin'? You be a gentleman, cause I'm a lady."

"No worries," Chuck replied.

"I know your boss, Crocodile Jack."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was in the sea turtle episode, swimming on the reef with Kim and Ron."

"Right, you're Monique, from the Kim Possible episode. Is she in town with you?"

"I never talk about what she's doin'," said Monique. "But I guess I can say this much. Kim's here to help Sheila Jones. I guess she works for the zoo. She had a baby, but she's, like, in a coma or something—"

"Aw, yeah, it's awful. We're all praying for her to pull through. Sheila doesn't work for the zoo, but she comes around. Her husband's Drake, the robo camera wizard. He's also working on the hydro-engineering for our new aquarium . He's a bloody genius. Got a weird sense of humor though."

At this point, the jukebox music stopped, and the band, whose drum kit identified them as "Bad Luck Blackie," began gathering onstage and testing microphones. They were all wearing black. The burly lead guitarist had long hair, a lot of tattoos on his arms, and a stubbly brown beard. The singer with a skinny guy with shades and a purple mohawk.

This was the cue for a lot of the older patrons to finish their drinks, pay up, and slip away.

"If this was home, I'd guess I'm about to hear some punk, maybe heavy metal," said Monique. "Lotsa loud, distorted guitars, growly singing about stuff they don't like—"

"That's about right," said Chuck. "Not your scene?"

"Long as the drummer lays down something I can stomp and wiggle to, I'm fine. Unless you know somewhere better to go."

At that moment, the drummer hit an unbelievable cascade of cacophony, the lead guitarist played an intricate run followed by a swooping growl, and suddenly they the bass player and rhythm guitarist joined in.

Monique and Chuck looked at each other. Monique grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the dance floor.

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Continued in chapter 2


	2. Chapter 2

**Shego's Baby**

**Part Two**

_Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Rufus, Monique, Felix Renton, Drakken, and Shego are characters from the Kim Possible show, created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, owned and copyright © by the Walt Disney Company. The story takes place at the end of Kim and Ron's sophomore year of college, three years after "So the Drama," and not long after my earlier story, "Mind Out Of Time." This story © 2006 by cloudmonet. This is part two of a four part story._

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The morning sun shone around the edges of the curtains in suite 2 of the Krazy Koala Motel. Kim got out of bed, slipped on her silk robe, and tapped lightly on the doorway before looking around the corner at the other master bed. Felix was lying down under the covers. Belinda sat up, holding the sheet to cover herself.

"Where's Monique?" Kim asked.

"I don't know," said Belinda.

"Felix? Are you awake?"

"Sorta," he admitted.

"You were with her most of yesterday. Did she talk to you about anything? I'm just wondering what she's thinking."

"She was kinda talking about men," Felix said. "It felt private and confidential. I don't think she'd want me to spill."

"Felix, if she went to a bar and picked up some guy, her life could be at stake," said Kim.

"Maybe she called the kimmunicator and left a message for you," Belinda suggested. "That'd be the responsible thing to do."

"Yeah, let's hope," said Kim. "Monique and alcohol— not a good combination."

"Sh'uh, she's under 21," said Ron, standing in the doorway wearing a gray T-shirt and spotted boxer shorts. He passed the kimmunicator to Kim.

"Thanks," she said. "Don't know the drinking age in Queensland. But underage or over, she can get herself in a mess. She was doing so well, too. She stopped going to fraternity parties, and— Let's see, messages." Kim pressed some buttons.

A recording of Monique's face appeared on the screen, partially lit by a blue spotlight. "Hey, Kim," she said, "just callin' so you don't worry about me if I don't get back to the motel. I met this nice Australian guy, Chuck, who works at the zoo, and I'm— yeah, just a minute, hon, gotta leave a message— bye, Kim, see ya tomorrow."

"Well, at least she didn't sound drunk," said Kim. "Just irresponsible."

"She did leave a message for you," said Belinda.

"Yes, but—"

"She's a fifth wheel on this mission," said Belinda. "She doesn't really have a role."

"Kim doesn't really understand being single," Felix said.

Kim looked at Ron. "I guess I don't."

Dot dot dadot! the kimmunicator rang, and Kim pushed a different button.

Drake's face appeared on the screen. "Bring the telepathy machine," he said.

He passed his communicator to Dr. Ruiz, who said, "Yes, it's time we tried it."

"On our way," said Kim.

————————————————

Ron carried most of the portable telepathy machine through the hospital corridors. Belinda carried the interface helmets. Kim was already talking to Drake and Dr. Ruiz.

"Your daughter needs you," the doctor was arguing. "Till we bring mama back, you're all the family she has in the world. The nurses all say you have a good effect on her. It's what Mom would want."

"This could take awhile," said Kim.

"There's mad science going down and I can't even watch?" Drake protested.

"There's nothing to see," said Belinda. "It's like watching two people in a beauty shop under the hairdryers."

"Come on, let's go look at the baby," said Ron.

Kim put on a telepathy helmet and lay down on the other hospital bed. Belinda dimmed the lights and began adjusting the console. Dr. Ruiz latched the door, and pulled down the window shades.

"I'm thinking all you have to do is stay away from experiences when Sheila used her flaming hands, and there won't be a problem. Drake says she's never blasted in her sleep, even when dreaming about a fight."

"I don't want to relive those experiences unless I have to," said Kim.

"Then think about something better," Belinda said with a soothing voice. "I want you to think of a time you spent with your friend Sheila when you were doing something you both enjoyed—"

————————————————

There was silence and darkness.

"Sheila?" Kim asked hesitantly, with a low voice.

There was no response, not even a feeling.

"Sheila, please still be here, somewhere."

Kim no longer felt like she was drifting in the darkness. She was standing, somewhere.

"Sheila, your baby needs you. Your husband needs you. Sheila, you have to wake up."

Still nothing, or not much.

"Sheila—"

Just a shadow, or a ghost.

"All right, I'm gonna focus on the last time we saw each other— it's a lush tropical garden with a tiled swimming pool. We're sitting on lounge chairs. You're feeding a big female iguana you call Lizzie—"

It wasn't working. The memory was no more vivid than a dream dissolving to wakefulness. Or maybe it was like a dream. A giant iguana, about twelve feet long, seemed to be taking shape in the blackness. Somehow Kim knew she was a girl iguana, a big one, and her name was Emerald— one of the giant iguanas Crocodile Jack took home to his zoo, maybe— the image slipped away like smoke—

"Thank God, Sheila, you're alive! My suggestion brought back something from your memory— Can you talk? It's Kim. I'm trying to bring you back. Your baby's alive— she's so cute— and Drake's so worried."

Kim was walking with Sheila through Crocodile Jack's zoo. Kim was wearing a mission shirt with khaki shorts. Sheila was wearing a green peasant blouse and black shorts, and still pregnant. "This is Emerald," Sheila said. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

An iguana the size of a Komodo dragon turned her head to look at Sheila and Kim.

"You know, I'd like you to introduce me to Emerald for real—"

"Say what?" asked Sheila, and the scene started to fade. This wasn't a shared memory, and didn't look like a possible future. The last time Kim and Sheila were actually together was during Kim's honeymoon, when she helped Crocodile Jack's team catch these giant iguanas.

"I think she was the one we jumped on from behind while you were tossing her bunches of bananas."

"Yeah, I'm glad Jack decided to keep this one," Sheila said. "She's very friendly. You want to come in her enclosure with me?"

"Uh, okay," said Kim.

Now the scene was sharply focused and solid feeling again. Even the sign on the enclosure was detailed, explaining how Emerald wasn't a new species, wasn't a mutant, but the victim, or beneficiary, of a mad scientist's experiments with modified lizard growth hormones. This dream was based on Sheila's real experience.

"Why would I dream about the bloody sign?" Sheila asked.

"I didn't say anything like that," said Kim.

"It's weird. It's like I'm hearing your voice, and you're saying a whole bunch of other stuff under your breath."

"If we're going into a giant iguana's enclosure, we'd better focus on that," said Kim.

"You mean don't get complacent?" Sheila asked as she opened the gate in the high fence. "Emerald's a sweetheart, and besides—" Sheila raised her left hand to remind Kim of her green plasma power— "You know—"

"You wouldn't use that on Emerald, would you?" asked Kim.

"Well, just between you and me, I already have," said Sheila. "Didn't hurt her a bit, just calmed her down a little."

"That seems wrong."

Emerald the iguana noticed Sheila and Kim inside the enclosure and got up off her belly and began walking toward them. Kim was holding a white bucket in her hand, filled with heads of lettuce and cabbage, and a bunch of bananas.

"We're gonna feed her," Kim said.

"You okay, Kim?" Sheila asked. "You seem spaced out."

"Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Pass me a cabbage."

Suddenly Kim noticed people gathering around the outside of the enclosure. Sheila switched on the cordless microphone she was suddenly wearing, and her voice echoed through the PA speakers.

"G'day to all of you. I'm Sheila, and here with the bucket is my friend, Kim."

When Sheila said the word friend, Kim felt some tension, some darkness lurking in the void beyond this moment.

"We're in the enclosure of Emerald, the giant green iguana from Venezuela," Sheila continued. "Now, green iguanas normally don't get nearly this big, but somebody at the research station slipped her a cocktail or two of modified growth hormone."

The lizard, whose head was bigger than a shovel, gaped her jaws. Sheila tossed the cabbage, which Emerald caught, and after a perfunctory attempt at chewing, swallowed more or less whole. She went through the whole bucket of food rather quickly.

"And now, for desert," rang Sheila's voice, "Emerald's favorite, bananas."

After gulping a couple of clumps of bananas, Emerald became quite placid, and seemed to much enjoy having her head scales stroked by Sheila. "She's so sweet," Sheila said, putting her arms around Emerald's neck. The next thing Kim knew, Sheila was sitting on top of the big lizard's shoulders. "Giddyup!" Sheila said, nudging the sides of the lizard's neck with her hiking boots. Emerald moved her front legs, then her hind legs, stood up, took a few steps, then stopped and sprawled out. Sheila dismounted while the crowd applauded. "I get more exciting rides on sunny days," she explained. "I love this lizard. She's so pretty, all green and black."

"Did you know you're dreaming?" Kim asked.

"Say what?"

Kim somehow also had one of those cordless microphones, and her voice echoed all over the PA system.

"Sheila! Your baby's already born! Wake up!"

————————————————

Kim opened her eyes to the dimness of Sheila's hospital room, and looked anxiously at Sheila, whose eyes were still closed. "Open your eyes, Sheila!" Kim said, but Sheila didn't respond. "She's in there," Kim told Dr. Ruiz as Belinda flipped the lights on. "She's dreaming. Her intelligence, her personality, she's still with us."

"Are you sure?" asked Dr Ruiz. "There seemed to be a slight rise in neocortical activity, which has fallen off again, but I'm not sure if that was really Sheila's mind or you in it through the machine. I didn't see any signs of rapid eye movement sleep indicative of dreaming."

"Kim's right," said Belinda.

"I respect your opinion, since you have experience interpreting the machine. Can you explain how you know?"

"Uh, I—" Belinda hesitated.

"Her aura's faint, but brighter than it was before, with increased brilliance in the crown chakra?" Kim asked.

"You can see this too?" Belinda asked, surprised.

"No, I'm just guessing what you'd say if Anna didn't inhibit you."

"Well, yes, that's exactly right, but I didn't think you—"

"Paid any attention to your psychic jargon?" asked Kim.

"You're psychic?" Dr. Ruiz asked Belinda.

Belinda bowed her head, then looked at Dr. Ruiz and Kim with her deep, quiet eyes. "Let's just say I have certain gifts and talents. I'm far from being the best at seeing what I see, so my opinion is only an opinion, but Sheila looks brighter now than she did before."

At this moment Drake came into the room, holding baby Alicia wrapped in a soft pink blanket, followed by Ron.

"I heard voices. What's happening?" Drake asked anxiously.

"The good news is I made contact," said Kim. "I sort of slipped into her dream. Her consciousness and intelligence seem completely normal. The bad news, she's still unconscious. We were at the zoo, in Emerald's enclosure. Is one of the giant iguanas named 'Emerald'?"

"Yeah," said Drake. "Sheila really likes that one."

"There's your proof, Anna. I didn't know the lizard's name till Sheila told me just now."

"Okay," Dr. Ruiz said quietly. "I'm convinced. What do we do now?"

"First, let's debrief Kim's whole experience," said Belinda. "Ron, you can help me."

"It wasn't like being with you," Kim told Ron. "I tried calling her. She didn't answer. I tried focusing on when we were together by the swimming pool in Venezuela, and somehow my memory of the two of us feeding a normal iguana suggested that we could feed the giant iguana at the zoo." Kim went over every detail of the experience, as well as she could remember.

"So stuff like the bucket and the microphones would suddenly be there when you needed it?" Dr Ruiz asked.

"Yes. It seemed both natural and dreamlike. Hey, Drake, does Sheila ever do demonstrations like that at the zoo?"

"No, not much. Well, a couple of times I think she's gone in with Kelly."

"So Sheila likes the iguanas, but this is more wishful thinking than memory?" Kim asked.

"I guess so," said Drake. "I don't think anybody's ever tried to ride either of them."

————————————————

"So we're back to what do we do now," said Dr. Ruiz.

"I think we need to get Sheila out of dream consciousness into something more like memory," Belinda suggested. "There must be some really vivid experiences you've shared that could strengthen the contact and wake her up."

"Yeah, about that—" Kim began.

"It's all about fighting," said Ron.

"Of course then we're back to the danger of her getting stimulated enough to actually blast something," said Dr. Ruiz. "We don't want that with all this electronic equipment."

"I have an idea," said Drake. "If Sheila's power can be activated by electrostimulation, maybe grounding her hands could prevent the activation. We could ground her and see if it neutralizes the effects of the defibrillator."

"Okay," said Dr. Ruiz.

————————————————

"So much easier said than done," Kim said, sitting with Ron in the hospital cafeteria, stirring yellow chicken gravy into her mashed potatoes. "They can't ground Sheila through the hospital's electric system ground, because that could cause all kinds of equipment failure. They can't ground her to the lightning rod ground, because it's cloudy, it could rain, there could be lightning. We can't just install a new ground wire, and we can't just spring her from the hospital and take her somewhere else because she's comatose."

"We've got Belinda," said Ron. "Maybe she could, um, persuade the boss dudes to be more reasonable."

"The real problem with bureaucracy is the number of people who need persuading. This is a unique problem we wouldn't have with anyone else."

At that moment, Monique walked in, looking slightly odd in her evening dress. She looked at Kim and Ron and cautiously approached their table.

"Hey, Monique," said Kim. "You look like you've got a story to tell."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"So not the drama," Kim replied.

"Been awhile since I've heard that one," Ron remarked.

"Yeah, it's pretty dramatic here," said Kim. "The controversial ground wire. We can't get it, and can't go on without it."

"Say what?" Monique asked.

"Wanna go for a walk? I need to clear my head."

————————————————

"Here we are," said Kim, standing with Ron and Monique in front of Emerald's enclosure in Crocodile Jack's Zoo. "Everything looks a lot like it did in Sheila's mind."

"I think she's the one we coaxed out of that tree," said Ron.

"Naw, that was a male. We jumped on Emerald from behind while Sheila was tossing her bananas. Isn't she beautiful?"

"Not exactly how I'd describe her, but she is kinda cool," said Monique.

"I'm kinda seeing her through Sheila's eyes."

"The whole thing mind-boggles me," said Monique.

"What? Telepathy? Giant lizards?" Ron asked. "You oughta be used to stuff like this."

"Can I say it, quietly?" Monique asked quietly. "Don't think anyone's listening."

"She means Shego," Kim explained to Ron.

"Mm-hmm," Monique agreed. "You've always been all, 'Shego, Drakken, evil scheme, giant robots, laser cannons, blah blah blah— and now they're your buds? What happened?"

"They seem to have realized the error of their ways and turned over new leaves," said Ron.

"Or they're playin' you like Wendell played me," said Monique.

"I kinda understand why they were the way they were, not that this excuses anything, but they outgrew their evil together, and I'm afraid, if one of them were to die now—"

"The other would backslide," said Monique.

"Exactly."

"So why exactly do you want to use the machine to go back to when you were enemies?"

"I don't, but I may have to, if these are the only memories vivid enough to kick start her consciousness—"

"Her bad consciousness," said Monique.

Dot dot dadot! Kim pressed a button and Drake's face appeared on the screen.

"What's the sitch?" she asked.

"The ground strap is working. We're ready for you."

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In theory, a really vivid memory of an experience shared by Kim and Sheila, might link the contact solid enough for Kim to pull Sheila back to consciousness. Kim tried focusing on the battle with the terrorists in the Snowy Mountains of the Hindu Kush. She tried focusing on the awkward interview with Will Du, George Rasp, and Steve Wind of Global Justice in that remote Queensland farmhouse. She tried focusing on the battle with the Japanese whaling ship ninjas. The pictures faded as quickly as Kim could bring them up.

In the darkness, something formless was waiting, moving around, observing.

"Okay, fine, if this is what it takes to bring you back alive, I'll do it!"

Kim was wearing her white battle suit, walking through the starlit shadows of the central lobby of Bueno Nacho corporate headquarters. Ron was beside her in his usual mission clothes, but no more than a memory, a shadow. What was much more real was the blast of green plasma coming down from an I-beam far above.

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Dot dot dadot! Ron picked up the kimmunicator and walked out into the hallway. "Yo! Ron-man here. What up?"

"Where's Kim?" asked Wade's face on the screen. "You're in Queensland— right?— I'm guessing for Sheila's baby. I've got a mission for you."

"Uh, well, Sheila's in a coma, and Kim's using the telepathy machine to try to make contact with her, so, can it wait a few hours or maybe till tomorrow?"

"Not so well," said Wade. "A gang of speedboat pirates is looting a cargo vessel in Indonesia even as we speak."

"I could totally handle that. I've got all the gear, the jet, the stealth bike."

"I don't know, Ron."

"Who else ya got? I know about Yori's Z-12 in North K, so she's unavailable. I got Felix, Monique, maybe Drake. What do you think we can't handle?"

"Wanda Hu Khan," Wade replied, slowly and emphatically.

"So I'm guessing there's secret stuff on the cargo ship she wants to sell to terrorists?"

"If so, it's secret from me. I think this is just about building up cash to pay her henchmen."

"Can ya patch me through to Felix and lay the details on us?"

"Ron, I'm sorry, but you're no match for Wanda Hu," said Wade.

"How do you know who I'm a match for? Were you watching me fight in the Hindu Kush, the cruise ship, or Dr. Mekong's laboratory? Did you see me knock out Killigan when Kim was having trouble? Not that I'm claiming to be better than her, or even as good, but all I need is a good plan, help from Felix, and—"

Ron noticed Drake Jones standing nearby in the hallway.

"Hey, Dr. D—"

"Alicia's asleep, and the door's locked to Sheila's room. Nothing to do but worry and wait."

"I got something better for you to do."

"Yeah? What?"

"Help me smack down the forces of darkness."

"You? Me?" Drake asked.

"Wade says it's kinda urgent." Ron looked at the kimmunicator and saw Felix's face.

"Meet me at the airport," he said.

"I need to call Monique first."

"I'm already here," said Monique, crowding next to Felix.

"Then we're on our way," Ron replied, stuffing the kimmunicator in his pocket. "C'mon, dude, let's move," he told Drake, and the two men hurried down the corridor.

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"There you are, Shego!" Kim said, almost instinctively dodging the blast. For a very long minute or two, Kim dodged Shego's blasts, tumbled and jumped on the high beams, and punched and kicked at her, before remembering her real purpose.

"You know, Erik's kinda cute," Shego said. "Maybe when you're out of the picture, I'll date him."

"News flash," said Kim. "Erik's just a stupid synthodrone. I'm married to Ron, you're married to Drakken, and you've just given birth to a baby girl. I'm in your head with a telepathy machine, trying to bring you out of a coma."

"That's crazy. Wait, what? You know about Erik?" Shego was still pushing on Kim's elbow, but no longer making green flames.

"Duh. this all happened more than three years ago."

"Oh, yeah, I kinda remember. This totally didn't work, did it, the diablo robot thing?"

"There was a lot of property damage and some pretty bad injuries, but as far as I know, nobody got killed. You're lucky."

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Inside Kim's jet at the Airport, Felix was talking to Monique. "You don't know how to fly the plane," he argued.

"Well no—" she admitted.

"So it's that simple. I have to fly the plane, and you have to fight. You've gone on missions with Kim before. I know you can fight."

"Not in this little dress. I'm gonna need to borrow some mission clothes, or something."

"Go in the back," said Felix. "I'll be right behind you." There was just exactly enough space between the seats for his wheelchair to roll. In the back, he activated a cyber-robotic tentacle, which stretched toward a biometric sensor lock on a cabinet.

"What are you doing?" Monique asked. "You can't get in there."

But the door opened in response to the tentacle's claw, and it pulled out a white and blue jumpsuit with matching gloves and boots.

"Are you serious about this, Felix?" Monique asked, taking the white and blue jumpsuit from the grip of the tentacle. "Kim is not gonna approve."

"This is life and death, Monique. We have a cargo ship crew to save."

"I am so out of my league here, especially without Kim."

"And this suit will put you in the league," said Felix.

"Hmm. Well—" Monique held it up to herself. "I guess it'd fit me okay. It's kind of stretchy, like a cat suit."

"I want to see you in it."

"Hmm. Well, okay. Go back in front and let me change." Felix rolled back toward the front of the jet and Monique closed the curtain.

Beep, beep, beep!

Felix pushed a button on his wheelchair, and a small screen unfolded from the left arm. Felix sighed. The face on the screen was Kelly, again.

"Hello, Kelly," he said quietly. "I'm kinda busy."

"Just give me one minute, mate, okay?"

"What do you want to say?"

"I just want to know the real deal with you and Belinda, cause she tells me she wants to keep it open, and she's fine with us, you know, and we had a really nice time in February. Why you gettin' so cold, mate? I thought you liked me."

"I'm sorry, Kelly, I do, I just— I've got a mission. I've got to fly the jet for Ron. Gotta save some people, okay?"

"Don't pull my leg, mate. Be straight with me."

"It's true. Watch the sky if you don't believe me. Kim's black jet will be going north."

"Okay, mate, okay. Can I call you later?"

"Kelly, I can't make a relationship work when we're eight thousand miles apart."

"We're no eight thousand miles apart right now! Come see me before you go home, okay?"

"Bye, Kelly," said Felix, pressing the disconnect button.

"That sounded kinda mean," said Monique, pulling the curtain open.

"I told you I didn't want to see her. She keeps bugging me, and I— Wow, Monique, you look—"

She smiled. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful and mighty."

"How's it work?"

"I'm not supposed to know, but I've read the manual. It's pretty simple, really. To turn it on, you just—" Felix ran his left index finger along his right wrist a certain way.

"Like this?" Monique asked, doing the same thing. "What about the belt? These look like more controls."

"They are," said Felix, and began explaining what each button did.

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"Is this a bon-diggity ride or what?" Ron asked Drake, handing him Kim's helmet while putting on his own.

Drake studied the black rocket bike. "Is it as fast as it looks?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah." Ron kick started the motor, which purred quietly.

"No vroom?" asked Drake.

"Can't sneak up on the bad guys if it vrooms," said Ron. "Hang on to those grips. The acceleration is fierce."

"I've ridden in all kinds of extreme vehicles," Drake said.

"You ready?" asked Ron.

With hardly more sound than the whooshing wind, the stealth bike rocketed from zero to eighty and beyond in the blink of an eye. Drake hung on, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and fought off panic while Ron drove toward the airport with maniacal glee.

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Kim and Shego sat in a cell with stainless steel walls, ceiling, and floor all polished into mirrors. Shego was in an orange jumpsuit; Kim was wearing her white battle suit. An infinity of reflections of the two of them, the little bed, and the toilet, stretched off four horizontal directions, above and below.

"They finally figured out a way to hold me," Shego said. "I can't blast out. It just reflects till it hits me. I have to look at what a mess I've become, all the time. Do I deserve this? You probably think I do."

"Not anymore," Kim said.

"They're trying to get me to spill on Drakken, but I won't," Shego said bitterly. "He's earned my loyalty. Too bad I never realized how much he cares about me."

"Do you think I don't care about you?" asked Kim.

"You?!" Shego shouted. "You hate me and I hate you."

"I did," Kim admitted.

"Spare me your pity! If I ever do get out of here—"

"You're so out of here!"

"Don't mock me."

"Sheila, I'm just trying to wake you up, for your husband and baby."

"Sheila! I was Sheila when I was a dumb little goth geek who hated high school, especially girls like you."

"It's the name you're using now."

"I'm gonna wake up and still be in this damned cell, right?"

"You're in a hospital in Queensland. You're free, well, as long as you keep your Shego identity secret."

————————————————

Ron skidded the stealth bike to a stop next to Kim's black jet. "Action and adventure," he said. "I'm hooked on it. Uh, you can get off the bike now, Dr. D."

Drake unclenched his hands from the hand grips and awkwardly dismounted. "Who do you think you are, Crocodile Jack?"

"I've graduated from comical sidekick to comical action hero."

"Sure thing, Ron," Monique said from the top of the ramp, with a bit of skepticism in her voice. She was wearing Kim's white and blue battle suit.

"Whoa!" said Ron. "Are you sure about wearing this? Do you know how to make it work? More importantly, is it working? I don't think we've run it through the tests in over a month, and—"

"Man, I feel strong, like I could clobber a whole gang of street brawlers. C'mon at me, brotha pirates, Monique's gonna teach you some respect!"

"Uh, Monique, better amp that down till we get there," said Ron. "You leave it running too long, you'll get all hyped up and twitchy."

"Okay," Monique said, running her right hand along the left sleeve to a control spot.

Ron and Drake rolled the stealth bike up the ramp.

————————————————

"I don't wanna wear a mask!" a teenaged Shego protested to her older brother. "I finally get to be somebody cool and no one can know what I am? I'm not somebody from a stupid comic or cartoon!"

"The comics do have a point, Sheila," said Herman. "If the villains knew who we really are, they can come after us at home. They can kidnap our parents or friends."

"Drakken did kidnap my dad," Kim said quietly. "Hego wasn't completely full of it about that."

"Oh, right," said Shego.

————————————————

The jet rolled down the runway and rose into the air. Felix manipulated the controls while talking to Wade on the satellite link. Ron went into the back of the jet and started checking equipment. Drake sat next to Monique.

"So, you're Monique," he said. "I'm Drake Jones. Ron invited me to come along for this mission as, um, a scientific consultant."

"Alias Dr. Drakken, alias Drew Theodore P. Lipsky," she replied, crossing her arms and leaning away from him. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Most of it bad, I guess."

"Yeah, well, not so much lately. But I'm more suspicious than Kim. She's got such a good heart. You could be playin' her."

"Monique!" Ron said sharply, pulling the curtain aside.

"I'm just sayin'—"

"Nothing but love, you hear me? Drake's on our team."

Monique frowned.

"It's— it's okay," said Drake. "I— I made a lot of mistakes."

"That's an understatement."

"The world's in such a mess, and so was my life, but I thought I could, maybe, improve things—"

"You don't really wanna go back there, dude," said Ron.

"Uh, yeah, I don't really wanna go back there," Drake repeated.

"Thing is, ya don't have to do it all yourself. Little things, you know. Wanda Hu's doing some speedboat pirating in Indonesia, took over a cargo ship, and that's a bit of badness we can stop. All the other problems in the world, well, we'll take them on later, if we can, if someone else doesn't do it first."

"Wanda Hu?" asked Drake with a bit of nervousness in his voice. "You didn't say anything about Wanda Hu."

"Right, you used to know her," said Ron. "So spill. What kind of pirate would she be? What kind of weapons does she like? What do you think she's after?"

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"Why are you wearing a bikini?" Shego asked.

"Cause I just got out of the pool," Kim replied, sitting on the lounge chair beside her.

Shego was wearing a one-piece bathing suit, and about seven months pregnant. "Oh, yeah, I kind of remember this. You're on your honeymoon, and Ron's mired in a term paper, and I'm feeding slices of mango to an iguana named— Emerald? No that's wrong. Her name's Lizzie." Shego chuckled. "So original of me, to name a lizard Lizzie! Isn't she pretty, all green and black?"

"Isn't that a male iguana? It's so big."

"Jack says Lizzie's a 'beautiful little sheila,' just like me, and Jack's the reptile guy. He should know."

"Does Jack know anything about your past?"

"He still thinks Drake and I are retired secret agents, and doesn't ask questions," Sheila said, taking a sip of iced tea. "Better to keep it that way."

"Yeah."

"I got plans, though, after Alicia's born. I'm gonna do the hero thing again."

"Really?"

"The action in the Hindu Kush inspired me. Wish I could've fought better, but Alicia was kicking and fussing inside. She hurt me more than the terrorists. But more than that, you inspire me."

"Me?"

"Seriously, Kim, you're my hero," Sheila said, dropping her voice, though no one else was nearby. "When I was sick, pregnant, and helpless, you not only brought me a doctor, but found one who wouldn't turn me over to the authorities. Remember what you said to me that day? 'One way or another, your evil career is over.' You changed my life. I knew, no matter where I went in the world, no matter what I tried, you'd find me, and if you didn't like what I was doing, you'd stop me, and I'd be back in the Shego cell, and never get out again."

"Sheila, we're almost there," said Kim.

"I really said that, didn't I? I really mean it! I can feel all the emotion behind it. Kim, who am I?"

"These days, you're Sheila Jones, Drake Jones' wife and Alicia Jones' mother."

"I don't remember the baby."

"Of course not," said Kim, "You nearly died giving birth. Alicia burned you on her way out, and you lost a lot of blood."

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Sheila blinked her eyes and saw Dr. Ruiz, and an unfamiliar girl with haunting brown eyes, and Kim sitting up on the next bed, wearing a helmet with a bunch of wires.

"Can you talk?" asked Kim, and she also heard the voice in her mind.

"Waa—" said Sheila, but in her mind, Kim heard Sheila say, "Tell them to give me some water."

"Sheila says she needs a cup of water," said Kim.

"Here you are," said Dr. Ruiz, helping Sheila hold the paper cup.

"Thaggs," she said, and cleared her throat. "What's with the handcuffs?"

"Grounding straps," Belinda said, unfastening them, and removing the telepathy helmet.

Kim took off her own helmet and pressed Sheila's hand. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said. "I'll go get Drake and Alicia." She opened the door and stepped into the hall. "Ron? Drake?" she called out. "I bet they're playing with her."

Alicia was sound asleep in a crib partially surrounded by lead screens from the radiology lab, placed there to prevent any inadvertent blasts of green plasma setting the room on fire.

"Please don't fuss," Kim whispered, gently picking up the baby and carrying her back to Sheila's room. Alicia stirred, partly opened her eyes, and squirmed a little bit.

Belinda was packing away the telepathy helmets and console; Dr. Ruiz was helping Sheila sit up. She coughed and smiled.

"C'mere," she said hoarsely, reaching for Alicia, which was a bit awkward with an IV still attached to one hand. She took the sleeping baby girl into her arms. The baby opened her eyes and looked at Sheila's smiling face. "Hey, Alicia," she said. "Mommy loves you."

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Continued in part 3


	3. Chapter 3

**Shego's Baby**

**Part Three**

_Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Rufus, Monique, Felix Renton, Drakken, and Shego are characters from the Kim Possible show, created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, owned and copyright © by the Walt Disney Company. The story takes place at the end of Kim and Ron's sophomore year of college, three years after "So the Drama," and not long after my earlier story, "Mind Out Of Time." This story © 2006 by cloudmonet. This is part three of a four part story._

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A small black jet with "KP" monogrammed on the tail fin flew at minimum speed just a few feet above the waves. In the rear of the plane, Ron and Drake were sitting on the stealth bike, which was on the drop hatch, transformed to jetski mode. Monique was standing on the back edge of the drop hatch, wearing water skis and holding a tether. "Ready whenever," she said.

"You know what to do when Felix drops you?" Ron asked Rufus, his naked molerat, who was watching a safe distance from the hatch.

"Oh yeah," Rufus squeaked, raising his right front paw in a molerat salute.

"You're the greatest, li'l buddy," Ron replied, returning the salute.

"Twenty seconds to drop," said Felix. "Start the rockets when the hatch drops open. Monique, you lean forward to fall through the hatch right after them."

"Check," said Ron. "Hold those grips, Drake. This could be rough."

"Uh, check," Drake replied.

"Ready, five, four, three, two, one."

The hatch doors dropped open. Monique leaned forward to drop as the jetski fell. Ron started the rockets in a split second, with Monique behind and slightly higher. The jetski hit the water running. Monique, however, was not able to get her footing on the water and had to let the tether go.

"We lost Monique," Drake said, but Ron was already circling back to her.

"I can do it from starting up," Monique said. "I'm good at waterskiing. I just can't do it jumping out of a plane."

"I guess that was Kim level stuntage, or maybe even she couldn't do it," said Ron, tossing her the tether. "Not important. I'll speed up nice and easy."

The jetski gradually picked up speed, rising out of the water, as Monique rose out of the water on her skis. Ahead were small and large islands, some no more than sandbanks, some steep mountains surrounded by lush jungle.

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"Where did our husbands go?" Sheila asked Kim, while little Alicia nursed on her pale breast.

"I'm guessing Ron and Drake went to the cafeteria," Kim said, reaching into her backpack. "Huh. I'm sure I left the kimmunicator in here."

"There was an incoming call," said Belinda. "Ron took it outside."

Kim looked stunned, and shook her head. "This is trouble. If mission was so urgent that Ron couldn't wait for me—"

"I've got a communicator," said Sheila.

"Drake's got yours," said Kim. "He used it to call me. How about a cell phone?"

Dr. Ruiz reached into her purse. "How about a satellite phone?" she asked, handing it to Kim.

Kim pressed a bunch of buttons. The phone rang. Wade's face appeared on the screen.

"Uh-oh," he said.

"Tell me how frantic I have to get," said Kim.

"I'm sorry. Ron made it sound like it would be late this evening or tomorrow before you'd be free and this is probably a matter of life and death—"

"What's the mission?"

"Speedboat pirates have taken a cargo ship. The local cops are corrupt, and there's no coast guard."

"That doesn't sound like Australia," said Kim.

"Indonesia. The pirate captain is Wanda Hu."

"This is bad," said Kim.

"Ron was very confident," said Wade. "He's with Felix, Monique, and Drake."

"What?!" exclaimed Sheila.

Alicia looked startled, and then her hands began glowing faintly.

"Watch the baby," said Kim. "You don't want to get her upset. She's got your power."

Sheila held Alicia's tiny hands, looking at them carefully. "Oh, wow, yeah, she does."

"And she doesn't have a lot of self-control," said Dr. Ruiz.

Kim looked back at Wade's face on the satellite phone screen. "So I'm guessing by this time they're close to their goal and you're maintaining communicator silence."

"Yeah."

"But you know exactly where they are, right? So get me a ride."

"Got it," Wade replied. "Crocodile Kate can get you there."

"I'm going too," said Sheila.

"Now wait a minute," Dr. Ruiz interrupted. "As your physician—"

"Don't make me blast my way out of here," Sheila said, standing up. "Here." She handed baby Alicia to Kim. "Where's my clothes?"

"Do you really think you're up to fighting Wanda Hu?" asked Kim.

Sheila bent her right arm upright as if challenging Kim to an arm wrestle.

"All right," Kim said, handing Alicia to Belinda. "No plasma now," she told Sheila.

"No worries, mate. I'm saving that for Wanda."

Kim grasped Sheila's hand and began pushing on her arm, but Sheila pushed back until both women's shoulders were trembling with muscle tension.

"I may look out of shape, but I'm not."

"Okay, I'm convinced," said Kim.

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Ron turned the jetski into another inlet, Drake seated behind him, and Monique trying to steer on her water skis. Ron had to slow down, and Monique got dunked again.

"Yo!" she cried out, treading water, and Ron slowed more and turned around.

"How 'bout I drive and you ski for awhile?" she asked.

"I hear a speedboat motor," said Drake.

"Snap! There it is!" said Ron, as a fast boat painted with jungle cammo suddenly growled across the mouth of the inlet, throwing up big waves. "We got 'em. Monique, Drake, just act like tourists till the last moment, then fire paintballs on deck. You got the suit powered up, right?"

"In the water?" asked Monique. "You promise I won't get electrocuted, bro?"

"Not a problem," said Ron.

"Ooh— kay—" Monique said hesitantly, rubbing each thumb over the opposite wrist while kicking to stay above the choppy water. She swam to the tether and squatted on her skis. "I feel the suit kicking in. I feel great! Bring it on, bro, Super Sister's gonna kick butt!"

"That's what I like to hear! Enthusiasm!" Ron called out, but as soon as he rounded the corner to follow the speedboat's wake, he told Drake, "I sure hope she can control that thing."

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Crocodile Kate's sports utility monster zipped into the parking lot of the Crazy Koala Motel, with Kim in the passenger seat and Sheila in the back, beside tiny Alicia and Kate's year old son, Joey, both in car seats. Kim and Sheila opened their doors and Kim unlocked the room. "Oh good," she said. "Ron's backpack."

"What? Won't he need it?" Sheila asked.

"There's plenty of gear on the jet for his team," Kim said, unzipping his pack. "One, two, three hairdryer grappling hook guns, and ah! Saved. Well, okay, it's only a small squirter, but I think this has the range to do me some good."

"A squirt gun?"

"Antiexplosive foam reagents, like the paintball rifles we used in the mountains, but less range. Good enough for a boat, maybe." She pulled out a mission shirt and tossed it to Sheila.

"Uh—"

"It's one of Ron's. It's clean isn't it?"

"Okay." She turned her back to Kim and changed her green peasant blouse for the black turtleneck. "But I draw the line at cargo pants."

"I've got some nice green ones," Kim said teasingly, holding up a pair of green Cleo's cargos from Club Banana. "You're all black now. You need some green."

Sheila snatched the green pants from Kim's hands and held them in front of her while looking in the mirror. "You're right. I need some green, and I think they'll make me look thinner." She took them into the bathroom and came out wearing them. "Well, I couldn't beat you, so I joined you," she said with a sigh.

"We'd better go," said Kim.

"I guess your super suit is on the plane."

"Yeah. I don't use it that much. It's great when it works right." They locked the room and got back in Crocodile Kate's vehicle. "You find what you need?" she asked.

"Sorta," said Kim. "We got hairdryers and squirtguns, but no parasails."

"Parasails?" asked Kate. "Kim, it's a seaplane. It lands on water."

"Yeah, but you don't wanna land next to a pirate boat with machine guns and maybe cheap Korean lasers."

"Good point," said Kate.

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A small, tough looking Asian woman wearing a camouflage T-shirt, black jeans, and a baseball cap turned the binoculars toward the jetski that was following their speedboat at a distance.

"Wha'd ya think, Cap'n?" asked the big Asian man with the long, thin mustache standing next to her.

"I know the guy who's driving," Wanda Hu replied. "He's Ron Stoppable. This is trouble. That's not Kim Possible with him, but some Afro chick wearing her white jumpsuit. They put together a squad to come after us. We don't know where Possible is. She could drop out of the sky, or be waiting at our lair, or something."

"This'll make 'em disappear, one way or another," the man said, raising his assault rifle and spraying bullets.

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"Uh-oh!" said Ron, as a pattern of splashes quickly got closer. He killed the jets, causing the jetski to slam into a wall of water, nearly knocking him off when Drake slammed against his back. Monique of course got dunked again. Ron restarted the jets and circled back to her. "They're shooting bullets," he explained.

"Which have longer range than our paintball guns," said Drake. "How's this gonna work?"

Ron pulled out the kimmunicator, pressed some buttons, and put it back in his cargo pants pocket. "We've got Felix," he said. "Scootch yourself forward. Monique, take off your skis and try to squeeze behind Drake. Let's hope this'll float all three of us."

Monique wrapped her arms around Drake's waist and pulled herself as close as she could.

Drake gasped and wheezed, "Lehhh—!"

Monique relaxed her grip. "Oh, sorry, did I squeeze too hard? I forgot I had this thing turned on."

"—t go," Drake finished.

"Ya didn't crack his ribs or something, did you?" Ron asked.

"I'm all right," said Drake. "Just, uh, be gentle."

"We're all on, we're floating?" Ron asked.

"The jets are half bubbling in the water," said Monique. "Is that okay?"

"Guess so," said Ron. As he powered up the jets, the ride was a little bit lower in the water and rougher than usual, but soon they were behind the speedboat again.

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"Shoot low this time," Wanda said. "Aim to miss. Maybe we can lure them close enough to make a kill."

The pirate aimed his assault rifle short and fired a clip toward the water in front of the pursuing jetski.

"The rest of you, keep watch in all directions, including up!"

"Aye, aye, Cap'n."

"Set a course for Drowned Man's Cove," she called to the man at the wheel.

"We'll make our stand there."

"It's workin' Cap'n. They're coming a little closer."

"Good," said Wanda, reaching for her holster. Time to get serious."

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"Monique!" Ron said and suddenly turned left toward open water. "Force field!"

"What? How? Oh yeah!" Monique stammered, and a shimmering blue light surrounded her and the jetski just in time for Wanda's golden plasma blast to bounce off.

"You're good, Ron," said Drake.

"Yeah, well, I saw she was aiming something smaller at us, and since the assault rifle was falling short, I figured it had to be— Monique! Force field again!"

Monique activated the blue glow again, and another yellow blast bounced off.

"I also know about how long it takes to build up the blast. It was weaker this time. She'll probably save her charge for when we board. Yeah, she put it back in the holster."

"Does it stop bullets, too?" Monique asked.

"Nope. Sorry," said Ron.

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A small propeller plane with an aborigine painting of a crocodile on one side was flying at top speed over Australia's Northern Territory, heading for the scene of the action somewhere in the lesser Sundas. Kim was sitting beside the pilot, talking to Wade on the plane's radio, while Sheila and Crocodile Kate sat in the seats with Joey and Alicia in their carriers.

"Why can't you put me through to Ron?" Kim was pleading.

"I'm getting a ring on both communicators, but no answer," Wade replied. "I'm guessing from Ron's location and speed that he's on the jetski."

"What about the plane?"

After a moment's pause, Wade hesitantly said, "The jet just suddenly broke into a dive. I'm hoping this is part of a plan and not the result of a missile strike."

"Do the pirates have missiles?" asked Kim.

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"Cap'n, what's that?" asked one of the pirates, pointing toward the sun.

There was a twisted vapor trail that stretched some difference, and stopped at the sun.

"It's her plane!" shouted Wanda, running to the ship's wheel. "Diving at us from the sun! Well, she's made it easy for me to aim." She opened a control panel and stuck an electronic key in the slot. The targeting screen came to life, and a turret on top of the cabin rolled back to reveal a battery of four heat-seeking missiles. "Fire!" she said calmly, her face vacillating between an evil smile and a look of doubt.

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"Aw, man, Felix!" Ron exclaimed, watching the small silver missiles rise toward the diving black jet. "Can't do anything about it— wait, Monique, there's a way to make the suit give off a blue plasma blast from the gloves, I think."

"Oh, yeah," said Monique, stretching her arms on either side of Drake's head to shoot a double blast of blue plasma toward the missiles.

"You'd think I'd be used to this kind of thing," Drake said, looking very scared.

Ron ducked forward till his head was bumping the jetski handlebars.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that," said Monique. "I think the missiles hung a yooey!"

They swung around in a broad arc as if following a curved freeway ramp in the sky and started heading straight for the jetski.

Meanwhile, the plane swooped just a few hundred feet over the speedboat, releasing a long double spray of antiexplosive reagents that quickly expanded into a mass of blue foam all over the deck of the boat.

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Sputtering and cursing, Wanda started climbing something to get away from the foam, but quickly enough it started melting down into blue goo.

A pirate who was down in the hold staggered out of the cabin, wiping blue goo off his face, saying, "Cap'n, what is this crud?"

"Antiexplosive foam. It gets into everything that's not sealed tight. There went most of our guns, except my plasma blaster. Get your knives out and put 'em on the captives' throats, but don't draw blood yet. We may yet be able to bargain for our freedom."

Suddenly sounds of commotion came from below.

"I don't like the sound of that," said the pirate.

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"Okay," said Wade's voice on the plane's radio. "Your jet came out of the dive and leveled off. It's circling around the atoll. I'm guessing Felix dumped antiexplosive spray."

"And Ron?"

"On the surface of the water, moving pretty quickly with sudden changes of direction."

"Somebody must be shooting at him!"

"He's stopped moving."

"Oh please, no!"

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As Ron hung a sharp turn and killed the jets, the second missile whizzed by to one side, skimmed the water, and skipped the waves a couple times before plunging into the water and blowing up a big splash far enough away to be harmless.

"I hate missiles," said Ron. "I just hate them."

"There won't be any more, right?" Drake asked. "The antiexplosive foam—"

"Yeah. Okay, we know Wanda Hu has a plasma blaster. I'm assuming if they had a plasma cannon or something like that, they would've used that against the plane instead of missiles."

"Right, small arms, plasma, lasers," said Drake.

"And if Rufus did his bit, we should have the cargo ship crew on our side."

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"It's all right, Kim," said Wade's voice. "Ron's on the move again. Wait, I got Felix on the line."

"Put him through," said Kim.

"I just sprayed the antiexplosive foam," said Felix's voice. "They shot missiles, but won't be able to shoot any more. I don't want to talk about the mission while it's happening, but so far, so good."

"Felix, I'm on my way."

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In the cabin of the speedboat, Wanda was feeding scrambled radio messages through a laptop computer to unscramble them. "So you're on your way? That means you're not here. This is looking better for Wanda. Only an hour till dark. After that—"

The commotion in the hold started up again.

"What is going on down there anyway?" Wanda muttered to herself, and climbed down the ladder into the hold, where her pirates were struggling with the cargo ship captain, chief engineer, and captive crewmen, who from the look of things had managed to make themselves somewhat less captive. "Yo! Captives!" she shouted, and for a moment the clamor died down. "You gonna give up, or you wanna fight Captain Hu again?" she asked, pointing her plasma gun at the other captain, who leaped right at her, knocking the gun out of her hand and sending it spinning across the deck.

The fight immediately recommenced. Wanda shouted a fierce battle whoop and flipped the captain toward the gun. "Go ahead, try to get it!" she taunted him, throwing one of his crewmen who tried to get involved back into the fray with her pirates. In seconds, Wanda somehow had the captain in a headlock with the plasma gun pointed at his forehead. "You wanna tell your men to give up, or you wanna vaporized brain?" she asked.

"Aaack aaach ugh!" was all he could manage to say through Wanda's chokehold.

"Yo! Captives!" Wanda shouted, and everyone looked at her again. "Gonna vaporize this brain if you guys don't go submissive."

Up on deck, something went thunk!

"This is getting complicated," Wanda complained, and punched the captain hard enough to knock him out. "Tie these guys up now," she said, and dashed up the ladder with her plasma blaster. She looked around and saw a grappling hook clamped onto the railing. She crouched, aimed her blaster over there, and waited.

Meanwhile, below deck, the commotion resumed.

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A white gloved hand grabbed the railing, and a tough looking young black woman flipped onto the deck, landing firmly despite the slippery residue of antiexplosive foam. Wanda fired, but her blast bounced off a bluish force field. A helmet flung across the deck knocked the blaster out of her hand, and it slid across the deck toward Monique, who picked it up and threw it over her shoulder into the water. It splashed, then exploded, with enough force to rock the speedboat. Ignoring this, Wanda spun around just as Ron jumped on top of her. Somehow they threw each other to the deck with backbreaking thumps. In moments Wanda was on top of Ron, but strength-enhanced Monique was on top of Wanda.

Monique managed to twist one of Wanda's arms behind her back. Wanda rolled over to face Monique. Ron, free now, tried to pull Wanda off Monique, who got free enough to give Wanda a good punch in the jaw with her left fist.

Wanda somehow flipped herself to her feet. "You're strong, Wonder Woman, but you don't know how to punch." Wanda made some rapid-fire jabs at Monique, who dodged most of them. Ron lunged at her, but Wanda flipped him to the deck.

"I didn't have my hands free," Monique said. Her punch connected, but Wanda grabbed her wrist and flipped her, just as Ron tackled her to the deck again. After a struggle and a bit of rolling, Wanda managed to get free of Ron, and turned to face Monique, who was lunging from another direction.

"Been fun, guys, but the game's over," said Wanda. "All hands on deck!" she shouted.

Monique and Ron looked around for the hatch, but saw no one was climbing out. "Looks like your crew has, um, other problems to deal with," said Ron.

"What do you know about that?" Wanda asked, while grappling with Monique again.

"All part of my plan," said Ron, hooking his elbow around Wanda's neck.

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With all the commotion on deck and down in the hold, nobody noticed the man in khaki treading water by the stern. He put the wrench back in his pocket, pulled out the submersible cutting laser, straightened his goggles, took a deep breath, and started cutting the hub of the right propeller. The water boiled and hissed where the red hot line moved slowly across the metal.

Drake turned off the laser and bobbed to the surface again, taking another deep breath before diving back to the propeller. Again the water bubbled, the laser hissed, and the slit progressed across the hub.

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Somewhere over the straits between Australia and Indonesia, a small propeller plane with an aborigine painting of a crocodile on one side winged its way north northwest as fast as possible.

"I've finally got a satellite image of the pirate boat," said Wade's voice on the radio. "There's some kind of fight on deck. I'm enhancing the image. Uh-oh!"

"Uh-oh, what?" demanded Kim.

"Looks like the whole pirate crew just swarmed out of the hold. Ron and Monique flipped a few of them but it's all over. They got them."

"And Drake? What about Drake?" Sheila asked, crowding near the radio.

"Not saying anything. One of their guys is in the cabin, decrypting my signal with a laptop. Yeah, you stinking pirate, I'm watching you from a satellite. You wanna listen to something? I got a garage band classic right here for Wanda Hu and her pirate crew, going out with hugs and kisses from Wade."

And a voice sang,

"I'm breaking rocks in the hot sun,

I fought the law and the law won,

I fought the law and the law won."

"What? No Motown?" said Kim.

"This is serious," said Sheila.

"Doesn't sound too bad to me. Ron and company got them disarmed except for knives and stuff. Drake's probably disabled the boat. That's what I'd have him do. My one worry— I just hope Monique didn't try to use my battle suit, cause if Wanda figures out how it works—"

"You know, I thought of trying to steal that thing, you know, back in the bad old days," said Sheila. "But I didn't think it would fit me."

"What was that?" asked Crocodile Kate.

"Spy versus spy stuff," said Kim. "Don't worry about it."

"Aren't you both American?"

"I said, don't worry about it," Kim repeated, with a bit of an edge in her voice.

"Sorry," said Kate.

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"So where's the other guy?" Wanda asked Ron. When he didn't respond, the big pirate punched his face a couple of times.

"I'm countin' punches," said Ron. "Better not let the count get too high."

"Or what?" the pirate replied, rapidly punching Ron's head like a punching bag. Ron swooned, apparently unconscious.

"If the count gets too high, you knock him out and he can't talk," Wanda said, shaking Ron repeatedly to no avail. "Okay, let's try the other one. Wha'd'you do? Use two whole rolls of gray tape on her wrists?"

"Seemed necessary, Cap'n," said one of the pirates.

Wanda got right in Monique's face. "What is your secret, anyway, Wonder Woman?" She squeezed Monique's biceps, hard. "Don't feel like so much muscle. And how'd you make that force field?" She turned to the nearby crewmen. "You guys didn't find some little thing looks like a remote control and not tell me, did you? Cause if any of you did, you better give it to me now!"

"Where would she hide it?" asked one of the crewmen. "There's one pouch or holster, nothing there, and the suit's skintight."

"Then maybe it's the suit," Wanda said with an evil grin, reaching for the front zipper.

"Hey!" said Monique.

"Don't worry, I like boys— at least usually— aw, never mind, you don't wanna know what Wanda likes. Forget I said anything." She pulled the zipper down all the way, and one of her crewmen yanked the suit off Monique's shoulders and partway down her arms, exposing interesting electronics on the inside of the white and blue cloth.

"Yeah, this is it," said Wanda, cutting through the mass of duct tape and pulling the sleeves and gloves off Monique's arms and hands. She started struggling, but now the pirates had no trouble holding her arms.

In little time Wanda had the suit completely off Monique, whose Club Banana underwear must sadly remain undescribed.

"Put some clothes on her," Wanda said. "And keep looking for that other guy. I'm gonna check how tough these tough girl clothes make me."

"What about the guy I knocked out?"

"What about him?" asked Wanda.

"He's not there."

"Oh, for— I bet he's in my cabin, waiting for me to go in there to change. Heck with that!" Wanda started pulling off her camouflage T-shirt right on deck.

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Continued in part 4


	4. Chapter 4

bShego's Baby

Part Four/b

iKim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Rufus, Monique, Felix Renton, Drakken, and Shego are characters from the Kim Possible show, created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, owned and copyright © by the Walt Disney Company. The story takes place at the end of Kim and Ron's sophomore year of college, three years after "So the Drama," and not long after my earlier story, "Mind Out Of Time." This story © 2006 by cloudmonet. This is part four of a four part story./i

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The small black jet with "KP" monogrammed on the tail slowed down as it drew closer to the white propeller plane with the aborigine painting of a crocodile on one side.

"There's a black jet closing in on us fast," said Crocodile Kate's pilot.

"I see it!" said Sheila. "It's your jet, Kim!"

"Croc One to black jet, come in," said the pilot.

"Oh, please don't use the radio," said Kim. "Wanda Hu's listening to everything."

"He's just playing music, like your mate Wade started doing."

Felix pulled along side the propeller plane and signaled for a landing.

"You want me to land beside him?" the pilot asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the ride," said Kim. "You can babysit Alicia, can't you, Kate?"

"I figured you were gonna ask me that. What do I do if—"

"If she fusses and starts blasting?" asked Sheila. "It all comes out of her hands. Just hold her little forearms and aim out the window. She'll probably think you're playing with her."

Alicia just sat quietly in the car seat, looking around with her big green eyes, then started drifting back to sleep.

"She's so cute," said Crocodile Kate.

"She is," said Kim.

With a bump and long splash, the propeller plane touched down on its pontoons not far from the floating black jet. Kim and Sheila got out, fired their grappling hooks and swung from here to there.

————————————————

"They've got Monique," Ron whispered to Drake, while they sat on the jetski, hidden in the mangroves. "We need a rescue plan. Did you get those propellors?"

"One of 'em, and the rudder. She can't be steered."

"She?" asked Ron.

"That's nautical talk for the boat," said Drake.

"I knew that."

"You took some serious hits."

"It was worth it to get away. They thought they knocked me out, and I slipped away nice and quiet. It's bad though. Wanda's gonna try the suit."

"This really does look like a job for Kim Possible," said Drake.

"Don't use your communicator," said Ron. "Wanda's hacked Wade's encryption, and He started doin' his disk jockey bit, playin' 'I fought the law.' "

Dot dot dadot!

"Maybe Wade got it fixed," Ron said, reaching for Kim's kimmunicator. When he pressed the button, he heard the Four Tops singing,

"Reach out, darling, reach out—

I'll be there, you know you can count on me,"

while the screen went through random patterns and pictures.

"Ah, Motown," said Ron. "Wade's returned to form."

Suddenly Kim's face appeared onscreen. "Hey, Ron," she said with music in her voice. "How's the mission?"

"Uh, I've done better," Ron admitted. "The good news is, we neutralized their guns, even Wanda's blaster, and the speedboat itself will just go in circles or something, but the bad news is, they captured Monique and me. I managed to get away, but they still have Monique, and your super suit."

"I would've talked to you sooner, but you guys took all the communicators."

"Sorry. I didn't think of that till we were underway. Uh, you don't sound very worried. These guys are tough, and Wanda's, well, Wanda, and she's gonna wear the suit."

"I know. I was worried about that, but now I'm not. Get ready for a grande-sized anticlimax."

"I though we were gonna rumble," said Sheila's voice.

"Sure, but they're just henchmen. Pow, pow, pow, it won't take long."

"Let me talk to Drackie-poo," said Sheila.

"Drackie-poo?" asked Ron, handing Drake the kimmunicator.

"You being a good boy?" she asked.

"I sabotaged a propeller and the rudder," he said proudly.

"Sounds fun. Kimmie told me how worried you were about me."

"Uh, yeah, well—"

"Alicia's so cute!" Sheila said, suddenly sounding like a giddy teenager. "She's— aw, I gotta think tough girl, kick butt, but then— you're sure Wade's right about the suit?" she asked Kim.

"I'm just glad he thought of this before some villain did."

————————————————

"Thought of what?" Wanda said to her laptop. "She knows I'm listening, I think. She just wants me to think she can turn the suit into a weakness so I take it off. But maybe she really thinks I can't follow that encryption change."

Suddenly Wade Load's freckled face appeared on her screen. "You really are persistent at breaking my encryptions, aren't you? But you know what? While I'm talking to you you can't decrypt anything else."

"That's what you think, buddy," she said, and typed some code, but whenever she managed to get rid of Wade, he was back a few seconds later.

"I don't care if you try to use the suit or take it off," he said. "Either way, you're toast."

Down in the hold, a new commotion began.

"What now?" she asked.

"Sounds like fun," said Wade.

"You shut up," Wanda said, and closed her laptop, flipped it over, and removed the battery. "Oh well, gotta straighten things out again." She climbed down the ladder and watched the ruckus in the hold, her gang of pirates against the cargo ship crew and Monique, who was now somewhat confusingly wearing cammo and black like one of the pirates. "Yo! Captives! Eat plasma!" she yelled, sending a blast of blue energy at the cargo ship captain. He was knocked down but no worse. "Non lethal!" Wanda muttered. "I should have expected this. Oh, well, better'n nothing." She let loose a few more blasts, most of them knocking down cargo ship crewmen. The last blast was kind of feeble, but she had everyone's attention.

"This whole ransom scheme is kinda down the toilet," Wanda said. "I'm gonna need my crew to help me fight whoever Big Brother's sending after us. I can't have you sons of female dogs breakin' free every five minutes. You wanna be good hostages or bloody carcasses? We still have plenty sharp knives, savvy?"

"Cap'n, that jet's comin' back!" a pirate called down to her.

"Any more hassle, you're all dead," Wanda said, hurrying up the ladder. On deck, she opened the missile control panel, inserted the electronic key, and Wade's smiling face appeared on the little screen. He waved at her.

"You're forgetting the antiexplosive foam," his voice said over the radio in the cabin. "Don't think those missiles are gonna work. But just in case any of them still do, I, uh, hacked into your controller."

Wanda pulled the trilithium power cell out of the radio. The black jet circled low, out of sight behind the trees lining the cove, no doubt dropping off Possible and her commando squad. "All hands on deck!" she cried, and one by one the pirates came up the ladder. "Start the engines! They dropped the squad. Let's see how far they can chase us."

"Aye Cap'n," said the first mate, taking the wheel and throttle.

————————————————

Down in the hold, the strange little hairless animal that kept chewing on the captives' ropes was gnawing away again, though this time there were more ropes to chew on.

Suddenly the engine started, the boat spun in a crazy circle, and came to a sudden jolt with the sound of the steel hull cracking mangrove roots. The last pirate went up the ladder, completely unaware of Rufus.

"Be cool this time," Monique whispered. "Let Rufus do it."

"When you do move, get weapons, whatever you can find," whispered the cargo ship captain. "It's our last chance."

————————————————

"Boo Yah!" Ron exclaimed. "Good work, Drake. Now it's smackdown time." He drove the jetski toward the grounded speedboat.

"This isn't exactly in my skill set," Drake protested.

"What? You think I'm the greatest?"

"You're pretty good."

"Just pretend they're crocs and jump on them. It'll be cool. Kim and Sheila will show up before ya know it."

Ron drove the jetski onto a patch of sand, pressed a control, and the jetski folded up into a compact mass. "A less appealing target for thieves that way," Ron explained.

"You realize when Wanda gets desperate, she'll start killing everyone in sight," said Drake.

"That's why we gotta move," said Ron, as pirates began rappelling down ropes over the side of the boat. "Watch for knives and stuff."

————————————————

The first pirate to reach the bottom found himself flipped backwards onto the wet sand. The second one kicked at Ron, but it was no use. Ron jerked him off the rope, kicked him to the ground and jumped on him. "I remember you," Ron said. "How many punches did ya give me? I counted, but I don't remember now. Aw, who cares?" Ron started rapid-punching the pirate's jaw. Then he saw other ropes drop over the side of the speedboat. "Here come your buddies. Gotta deal with them!"

Drake rammed his head into one pirate's chest, knocking him down.

Ron was fighting three pirates now. He kicked the knife out of the first one's hand, and flipped the second one against the third one. The first three pirates staggered to their feet and started to run toward the jungle.

At that moment, Kim appeared, did a handspring off a mangrove root and kicked one pirate to the ground, and flipped the second pirate against the third one exactly as Ron had done. "How many more?" Kim asked Ron and Drake.

"Five or six, plus Wanda," Ron said.

At that moment, there was splashing on the other side of the boat.

Kim drew her grappling hook gun, grabbed Ron, shot at the railing, and winched them both up to the tilted deck, still slick with antiexplosive foam residue. To their surprise, they found Monique, the cargo ship captain, and his crewmen.

"Where's the pirates?" asked Kim.

"Some of 'em left. We heaved the rest over the rails just now," said the captain.

"And Wanda?"

"The Mongolian she-devil? Haven't seen her since we came up from below."

Ron felt familiar little claws scuttling up his cargo pants. "Rufus, ma' man! Good work!" he said, nuzzling his face against the little animal in his hand.

"Aw," Rufus squeeked, embracing Ron's nose.

"There!" said Kim, pointing at flashes of blue and green light in the shadowy jungle. "Sheila's gonna need our help. Looks like either the silicon phase disrupter didn't work, or Wanda blasted it before Sheila could use it." Kim patted one of her cargo pants pockets. "I have another one, just in case."

————————————————

"Give it up, Shego!" said Wanda, heaving her to the ground again. "You can't match with me. You're weaker than you used to be, and I'm stronger."

Sheila staggered to her feet, snapped into a fighting pose, and lunged at Wanda again.

"I don't have time for this," Wanda said, and pulled a long knife out of the suit's holster. "I always wondered, is your blood green like your skin, or red like everyone else's?"

"It's red, but you're not gonna see it," said Sheila, grabbing Wanda's wrist with both hands and twisting with all her might.

Wanda dropped the knife, but snapped her wrist back, throwing Sheila through the air again, and picked up the knife with her other hand.

"I hate that cursed suit," said Sheila, regaining her footing. "But you know it's like my power, you use it too much, you start getting drained, and you're using yours more than I'm using mine."

"You think you gonna psyche me out, sweetie? You're lame at that." Wanda blasted blue energy at Sheila, who ducked behind a tree.

Twigs snapped. Leaves rustled. Wanda, instantly alert, sent a couple of blasts at the random sounds.

"Yo! Paranoid street scum! You're blasting at monkeys!" Sheila said, lunging at Wanda and knocking her down. Wanda flipped her off with little trouble, but in the process Sheila somehow got her knife.

"Won't do you any good, She-dog."

————————————————

Crouching behind a bush with Ron, Kim pressed the power button on her silicon phase disrupter and gradually eased up the volume knob while aiming it at Wanda.

"Could Wade have been wrong about this?" whispered Ron.

Kim turned the knob all the way to eleven. The device started buzzing.

"Now I'm gonna blast the wasps," said Wanda, aiming her hand toward Kim and Ron's hiding place.

"Getting tired?" asked Sheila, when no blue blast seemed forthcoming. "That's what I've been waiting for!" She threw the knife high over Wanda's head into a tree trunk.

"Oh, bring it, Shego!" said Wanda, assuming a fighting crouch as Sheila casually walked toward her.

"Hold this on her," Kim whispered to Ron. "If the batteries die, the suit could come back to life."

"Go get her, Kimbo," said Ron.

Wanda turned her head just in time to see Kim jumping at her. All three women wrestled on the ground.

"Watch your eyes, Kim," Sheila warned her. "She's vicious."

Even with the battle suit at least partially neutralized by the overloaded silicon phase disrupter, pinning Wanda was about as easy as pinning a tigress. The punches connected, the scratches connected.

In one instant, Kim was on her back , with her elbow wrapped around Wanda's neck from behind, her legs wrapped tightly around Wanda's right thigh, while Sheila was on top, pinning one of Wanda's wrists with each hand and Wanda's left thigh with her legs. Somehow Wanda almost managed to break free of all this, but then they all got stuck again, this time with Kim and Wanda face to face, Kim clutching one of Wanda's wrists with both hands, while Sheila, still on top, had twisted the other arm behind Wanda's back, and they again had Wanda's legs pinned with their own.

And Sheila had what she wanted: Wanda relatively immobile, and her own left hand free, which she placed on Wanda's forehead and blasted a jolt of green plasma. Instantly Wanda collapsed, unconscious.

"I am gonna be so sore," said Kim, pulling herself out from under Wanda.

"You and me both," said Sheila.

————————————————

A small black jet with "KP" monogrammed on the tail floated on pontoons in the water near the pirates' black speedboat.

"The cargo ship's okay," Wade was telling Kim on the kimmunicator. "A Global Justice squad has taken control of it. Unfortunately, um, the members of the gang who were on board got away."

"We got Wanda Hu and eleven others," said Kim, "and rescued the cargo ship captain and crew. So what now? I have the feeling if we turn them over to the locals, they'll bribe their way out."

"Maybe not exactly the locals," said Wade. "But the attorney general in Jakarta understands the need to wipe out piracy, so if you take them there—"

"I'd rather take Wanda somewhere else altogether."

"So would I," said Wade. "But we do want to continue being allowed to operate in Indonesia."

Kim sighed. "Yeah."

"Not that you haven't gone where you're not welcome, but it's better to keep the cops on our side whenever we can. Is Ron right next to you?"

"He's talking to Monique and Felix. I'll get him."

"No, I don't want him. I want to talk about him. How did he do, really? Should I let him take missions like this if you're unavailable for some reason?"

"Ron's work was very good, but it took all of us to bring Wanda down. Ron might have succeeded without me if Wanda hadn't gotten my battle suit. Letting Monique wear my suit was a bad idea."

"Uh, that wasn't my idea, it was something Monique and Felix came up with."

"Okay— I'll have to have a talk with them. Meanwhile, can you fix the battle suit so it will only interface with me? Even if I'm the one wearing it, someone could take it again."

"Always wear clean underwear," interrupted Sheila.

"Hey, this is private talk," said Kim.

Sheila giggled. "Sorry. Just wanting to get back home to baby."

————————————————

Back in Queensland, almost midnight, Sheila and Drake drove their Volkswagen bug to their little rustic house on the edge of town, parked in the drive, and unbuckled Alicia's car seat from the back seat.

"I did it," Sheila said carrying the sleeping baby through the living room into the bedroom. "I whupped Wanda Hu."

"Kim helped some, didn't she?"

"Sure, but I could'a took her myself."

"Really?"

"You know how Kim always used to beat me? She just dodged my blasts and waited for me to wear myself out. See, if I pace myself, and don't use the green glow anymore than I have to, I've got more stamina."

"So you might be able to take Kim Possible?"

"So not interested in trying. Don't even think about it."

"Well, yeah, sure, she saved your life, and—"

"Keep thinking good, sweetheart," Sheila said, stroking the stubble on his face. "Hmm. You need a shave. Anyway, we're free, we have an innocent little baby, and you like making robot cameras and water pumps. I know, I know, I've got this rebellious goth chick inside saying bleech! whenever I see that pink flowered couch in the living room—"

"We could get a green couch," suggested Drake. "Or slipcovers."

"No, I like the flowered couch. I'm not that goth girl anymore. We don't have to be bad to have adventures. We've had plenty— blowing up logging equipment for those Indians, sailing with Greensleeves and fighting ninjas, getting kidnapped by terrorists, jumping on crocodiles, catching giant lizards, whupping Wanda Hu— and when it's all over we get to go home and cuddle instead of being taken away in the paddy wagon."

"I was so scared I was gonna lose you, and be all alone again."

"I don't know. It was weird. I was in the hospital bed, pushing out the baby, you know, and— nothing. And then Kim was poking around. I started thinking of things, and everything I thought of somehow involved Kim." Sheila laughed. "Do you know how weird that seemed? I didn't understand the telepathy machine, and—"

"Good guys can be sappy, right? Cause I never could tell you how much I love you."

"That's so sweet," said Sheila, kissing his lips, then playfully biting his nose.

"Hey!" Drake protested, and she kissed him again.

————————————————

And the next morning, a small black jet with "KP" monogrammed on the tail flew across the Pacific. Felix's cyber-robotic wheelchair was locked in place at the controls. Monique was sitting beside him. They were listening to some sort of music through their headphones. Kim and Dr. Ruiz were passing a laptop computer back and forth, taking turns typing. Belinda was asleep in her seat, Ron asleep in the foldout bed in the rear of the plane.

They reached Lima, Peru, late that evening, dropped off Dr. Ruiz, and spent the night at a suite in the Lima Les Rouges.

"What's with Monique?" Kim asked Ron as they lay in bed watching an old movie about an American cowboy in Australia, in English with Spanish subtitles.

"What do you mean? She seems fine."

"She's hanging out with Felix and Belinda. She doesn't like Belinda, I don't think. And she seems happy. I don't get it."

"Booyah!" said Ron, as the cowboy's rifle shot took down an improbable target. "He got him!"

Kim sighed but smiled. "Yeah, he's quite a shot," she agreed.

————————————————

Next morning, next stop, Northwestern State University, to return the portable telepathy machine.

Belinda handed Dr. Hurlbetter a large envelope. "What's this?" he asked.

"Open it up," said Kim.

Dr. Hurlbetter read aloud, "Avrum Hurlbetter, Ph. D. and Anna Ruiz, M. D., Electronic Telepathy As a Method to Revive a Comatose Patient—" Anna's card was clipped to a handwritten note: "Dr. Hurlbetter, please review this rough draft and call me about any needed changes or additions ASAP. Let's also discuss clinical trials. Yours, Anna Ruiz."

"She really wants to meet you," said Belinda.

"She wants to meet me?" asked Dr. Hurlbetter. "Do you realize who she is?"

"I worked with her. She's very nice."

"Anna Ruiz is one of the world's most respected research physicians— and she's making me the senior author of a paper she wrote."

"Actually, I wrote the first draft of most of the paper," said Kim. "Anna added the medical jargon."

"Oh, really?" Dr. Hurlbetter said with some distaste in his voice. "You don't expect author's credit, do you? Lab assistants do not get author's credit." "Don't worry about me," said Kim. "When I write my memoirs, I'll be on the best seller's list."

"Ruiz gets papers published in a snap," Dr. Hurlbetter said. "She treated a man with a bizarre skin discoloration in November, and the paper was in print by February. This is exciting."

"Told you so," said Belinda.

"Yes, indeed," he said. "You know, Kim, if you'd told me Anna Ruiz was the treating physician, I would've given my immediate blessing."

"Hey, I just knew her as a general practitioner from Lima who offers clinics for local Indians. Wade found her on the internet."

"Shouldn't be a surprise," said Ron. "Ask Wade for a doctor, and he'll find the best."

"Oh yeah," agreed Rufus, perched on Ron's shoulder.

————————————————

Next Stop, Seattle, Belinda's home, just a short flight to the north from Northwestern State. Kim flew the plane, so Felix and Belinda could spend a little more time together. Belinda's parents met them at the airport. She went on and on to them about her work with Dr. Hurlbetter, but spent no more time introducing Felix than the others.

Monique pulled Kim aside and said, "I think she's gonna dear John him over the summer."

"Is that why you're so happy?"

"Well—"

"You're delusional," said Kim. "They're solid."

"She's not doin' this right. I'd be all, 'Hey Mama, Dad, meet my man!' "

"She might have family issues."

"I don't know. All I know is a few days back she was all over him, and now—"

"Just because you haven't let them have much time alone together, doesn't mean—"

"Well, all summer he's gonna be in Middleton, I'm gonna be there too, and she's gonna be in Seattle. Who knows? Maybe she could get dear Jane'd."

"Monique, you're bad!"

"What's she doin' bad?" asked Ron, who'd just joined the two of them.

"Girl talk, not for your ears," said Monique.

"Gonna make your move this summer?" Ron asked conspiratorially.

"You know?"

"We talked about this last Thanksgiving. You were all weepy eyes about it."

"I was? I don't remember that."

"I do," said Kim "We were sitting at the Bueno Nacho on Fifteenth Street, and Felix rolled up and said—"

"What, what'd I say?" asked Felix, rolling up.

"You said, 'Hey guys, what's happening?' " said Kim.

"Oh, yeah, I say that a lot, don't I? So what's the sitch?"

"Time to go back to Middleton, I guess," said Monique.

————————————————

On the flight to Middleton, Kim and Ron overheard this choice tidbit: Felix told Monique, "So when Kelly saw us in the zoo and started calling me, she also talked to Belinda."

"Noooo!"

"Yes."

"That why Belinda's being so chill? Cause I didn't mean to cause you trouble."

"She didn't care," said Felix. "In fact, she encouraged me to see Kelly while she was busy at the hospital. That's what Kelly was saying when you heard me hang up on her."

"Say what?"

"I didn't believe it, so I asked Belinda, and she told me, yeah, she wants to be, like, open—"

"I just don't get that whole thing," Monique said. "My ex-boyfriend was like that. Well, he said he was like that, but he was just an out and out player."

"Kelly likes to be open, too. That's not what I want. I want—"

"What they have?" Monique asked, obviously meaning Kim and Ron.

And then the voices dropped.

————————————————

Kim landed her jet in the general aviation section of Middleton International Airport. Felix's mom met them there. Monique's green Buick was already in the parking lot, courtesy Aaacme Driveaway Service. First they loaded Felix's stuff in his mom's van. Somehow Monique made sure she was the one who helped Felix lift himself from the chair to the passenger seat. She smiled at him, looked into his big blue eyes, and said, "See ya around, soon, maybe?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Felix said. "I'd like that a lot."

Monique kept smiling and nodding her head, and somehow her eyes closed and their lips met. It was brief, sweet, but definitely a kiss. "I'll call ya, or you can call me— either's fine, okay?"

"Okay," Felix agreed. Monique closed the car door and the van pulled away.

"So spill," Kim told Monique. "What was that?"

"I think it's called a kiss."

"No duh."

"Who's the girl? Was I right about Belinda, or what?"

"I guess. Wow. This is gonna change everything."

"We were talking take it slow, see how it feels, but now I'm crushing."

"Dare I ask about Chuck?"

"He's a nice guy, I guess," Monique said. "We didn't do anything. Well, okay, we did a little. But I can't get involved with a guy whose life is so somewhere else. I've known Felix for, what, about four years? The only reason I hung out with Chuck that night is cause hangin' out with Felix that afternoon got me all hot, and seeing him with Belinda made me jeal."

"Uh huh," said Kim.

"Am I the only one loading all this stuff in Monique's car?" asked Ron.

"Looks that way. Thanks, Ron," said Kim, but she and Monique started helping him fill the trunk, and then the back seat, with boxes, garment bags, and suitcases.

Rufus kept scampering back and forth from the inside of the car to Ron's shoulders.

"When Felix and I were at the zoo, I was walking beside him, feeling kinda awkward, so I got real and spilled how I feel," Monique said.

"Risky move," said Kim.

"If you don't say something, how's a guy gonna know? I asked him how he felt. He said he thinks I'm beautiful. You know what that did to me? Oh my god! Nobody's ever told me that."

"You are beautiful," said Kim.

"Thanks. I try. What girl doesn't, you know? He says he never made a play for me cause I date jocks like Brick and Wendell, so he thought he didn't have a chance. Now that made me feel bad, cause that probably was how I used to feel. I'm all, let's be friends, but if Belinda don't work out, come see about me. Then Belinda's all, I'm busy with Kim and the doctor, go hang out with Kelly or whatever. She went on about how she likes open relationships, which he doesn't want."

"That was sudden," said Ron.

"You're the girl," said Kim.

"So you gonna hang out in Middleton for awhile?" Monique asked.

"Just a couple of days," said Kim. "We'll stay at the Lake Middleton Resort, have dinner with the families, both his and mine, and then— we're not sure. Being here doesn't feel like coming home, more like time travel back to childhood, and I like my now a lot better."

"So where you gonna go?" asked Monique.

"I don't know. What do you think, Ron?"

"Summer's always over before we know it, as long as we're together. Have I ever worried about details?"

"We're not living with our parents now."

"So— let's rent a summer cottage," Ron said. "Maybe in Maine, or Minnesota."

"Mm, okay," said Kim.

"I guess I'll see you guys at the end of August, then," said Monique.

"Don't worry, I'll stay in touch," said Kim.

Monique started the Buick and drove away.

"More changes," said Kim. "It's been a year of changes. It's all good, though. We got married. We should be married. Drake and Sheila— that's such a change for the better. I guess this is good, too."

"Hey, where's Rufus?" asked Ron. "Oh, no! Is he in Monique's car?"

"Check the pockets before you panic."

"Right. Uh, okay."

Rufus blinked and looked puzzled.

"Sorry, buddy," Ron said, and put him back in his pocket.

Kim put her arm around Ron's waist. "So let's get the Stealth Bike out of the plane and go to the lake."

"Booyah!" said Ron and they ran back to the jet.

————————————————

The End


End file.
